According to a statement by QatarEnergy on Monday, the company has signed an agreement with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) for the construction of six additional QC-Max vessels,
This brings the total number of LNG vessels on order under its fleet expansion program to 128, including 24 QC-Max mega vessels, it said.
Also, CSSC’s Hudong-Zhonghua will build the ships and deliver them between 2028 and 2031.
This order is worth about $2 billion, QatarEnergy said.
In April this year, QatarEnergy signed a major shipbuilding deal worth $6 billion with CSSC for the construction of 18 271,000-cbm LNG carriers.
CSSC’s Hudong-Zhonghua will also build these vessels worth about $333 million each.
Eight of the 18 QC-Max size LNG vessels will be delivered in 2028 and 2029, while the other ten will be delivered in 2030 and 2031.
Each of the world’s largest LNG vessels will be 344 meters long, 53.6 meters wide, and will have a draft of 12 meters.
The vessels feature WinGD dual-fuel propulsion, a reliquefaction system, an air lubrication system, and GTT’s NO96 Super+ containment tech. The vessels have five storage tanks.
QatarEnergy did not mention charter deals in the new statement.
Shipbuilding sources said QatarEnenergy will later pick owners of these new vessels.
The company previously signed long-term time charter party (TCP) agreements with four ship owners for the operation of the 18 QC-Max vessels.
Nine of these vessels will be operated by affiliates of China Merchants Group, Shandong Marine Group, and China LNG Shipping.
CMES will operate four vessels, Shandong Marine Energy three, and CLNG two.
QatarEnergy also signed a time charter and operation agreement with compatriot shipping firm Nakilat for nine 271,000-cbm LNG carriers.
Currently, the world’s largest LNG carriers are Qatar’s Q-Max vessels that are about 345 meters long and have a capacity of 263,000-266,000 cbm.
Qatar’s Nakilat owns 14 Q-Max LNG carriers built by Hanwha Ocean (DSME) and Samsung Heavy between 2008 and 2010, and they all transport LNG from the giant Ras Laffan LNG complex in Qatar to customers around the globe.
Last month, LNG Prime also reported that QatarEnergy was looking to order a new batch of the world’s largest LNG carriers in South Korea.
Sources said at the time hat Samsung Heavy and Hanwha Ocean are competing to win these orders.
The total number of vessels may reach 15 ships, while the orders will probably be split by these two shipbuilders, the sources said.
QatarEnergy is currently working on the giant North Field LNG expansion program that includes the North Field South and North Field West projects, which together will raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from the current 77 mtpa to 142 mtpa in 2030.
The first two projects include six mega trains, each with a production capacity of 8 mtpa of LNG, four of which are part of the North Field East expansion project, and two are part of the North Field South expansion project.
QatarEnergy officially started construction on its North Field expansion project in the giant Ras Laffan complex in October last year.
QatarEnergy LNG currently operates 14 LNG production trains with a capacity of about 77 mtpa in Ras Laffan.
QatarEnergy’s partners in the expansion project are Shell, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Eni, Sinopec, and CNPC.
Technip and Chiyoda won the EPC award for the North Field East project, while QatarEnergy awarded the contract for the North Field South project to a joint venture of Technip Energies and Consolidated Contractors Company.
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