South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has been awarded a mega deal to build 17 modern LNG carriers for QatarEnergy
The deal, valued at QR14.2Bn (US$3.9Bn), marks the start of the second phase of QatarEnergy’s LNG ship acquisition programme, which will support its expanding LNG production capacity from the North Field LNG expansion and Golden Pass LNG export projects as well as its long-term fleet replacement requirements.
HHI bagged a number of slots in the first phase of the newbuilding programme. In general, South Korean and Chinese yards dominated. Slots for the enormous shipbuilding programme were secured in 2020 by QatarEnergy (formerley QatarPetroleum, the parent company of QatarGas) with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (now Hanwha Ocean), HHI and Samsung Heavy Industries, along with China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding emerging as winners.
Together with the 60 ships contracted in phase one, the new agreement brings the total number of confirmed LNG vessels to be delivered to QatarEnergy and its affiliates to 77, with more to follow.
The Gulf nation’s LNG production is fed by the giant North Field, which has recoverable reserves of more than 900Tn standard cubic feet (tscf) - nearly 10% of the world’s known gas reserves. Now, with LNG demand set to grow, the North Field East expansion project will raise the Middle East Gulf country’s LNG production capacity from 77M tonnes per annum (mta) to 110 mta.
QatarEnergy chief executive Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said, “This is another milestone in our long-term relationship with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and the South Korean shipbuilding industry in general, which is built on the strong and strategic partnership between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Korea.”
KSOE co-chief executive Ka Sam-hyun said, “We value our partnership with Qatar, and we are very proud of taking part in the world’s largest LNG newbuild project. We firmly believe this opportunity will further consolidate the long-standing co-operative relationship between our two countries and companies. We are fully committed to contributing to this project with the most advanced technology and expertise to ensure safer, more efficient, and reliable transport of LNG from Qatar to the world.”
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