Qatar Petroleum announced today that it has ordered four new LNG carriers from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group Co. Ltd. (Hudong), a wholly owned subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), according to the company's release.
These four carriers are the first batch of orders in Qatar Petroleum’s massive LNG shipbuilding program, which will cater for future LNG fleet requirements for the North Field expansion projects as well as for existing vessel replacement requirements. This order is also the first ever placed by Qatar Petroleum or any of its affiliates with a Chinese shipyard for LNG ships, and the first with Hudong in connection with the agreement to reserve ship construction capacity that was executed in April 2020.
The North Field expansion projects will increase Qatar's LNG production capacity from 77 million tons per annum to 126 million tons per annum. Qatar Petroleum’s LNG carrier fleet program is the largest of its kind in the history of the LNG industry and will play a pivotal role in meeting the shipping requirements of Qatar Petroleum’s local and international LNG projects, as well as replacing some of Qatar's existing LNG fleet.