Samsung Heavy Industries, the world's second-largest shipyard, will start Wednesday to build the world's biggest liquefied natural gas carrier for an Exxon Mobil project in Qatar.
Samsung will cut steel for a 266,000 cubic-meter, or 347,915 cubic yard, LNG tanker, about twice the size of a typical LNG carrier, in Koje island in South Korea and deliver the vessel by August 2008, said Robert Tustin, technical manager for new construction at Lloyd's Register Asia. His firm inspects and certifies ships.
"There are 45 LNG tankers of 200,000 cubic meters capacity on order at Korean shipyards for Qatari gas projects," Tustin said. These orders include tankers of 209,000 cubic meters in size, known as the Q-flex, and 266,000, or Q-max, said Tustin, who has spent 23 years in the shipping industry. Each Q-max carrier costs about $300 million, he said.
Oil companies plan to spend a record $292 billion this year on oil and gas exploration, production and refining as demand for fuel increases, analysts at Lehman Brothers Holdings have said. That has increased the need for vessels and helped yards in South Korea, the world's biggest shipbuilding nation, to grab almost half of last year's global orders for new ships.
As of January, there are orders for more than 140 LNG carriers with sizes exceeding 138,000 cubic meters, Tustin said, citing a report by Fairplay, a shipping newsletter.
Samsung Heavy has a backlog of 43 LNG carriers, more than any other company, the company said in a regulatory filing on March 15. There are 219 LNG carriers in operation worldwide currently, transporting gas super-cooled to liquid for transport by ships.
Oil companies will invest 9 percent more this year than in 2006, according to the Lehman report. Oil prices have more than doubled in the past five years, making it more profitable for producers to invest offshore.
Samsung will cut steel for a 266,000 cubic-meter, or 347,915 cubic yard, LNG tanker, about twice the size of a typical LNG carrier, in Koje island in South Korea and deliver the vessel by August 2008, said Robert Tustin, technical manager for new construction at Lloyd's Register Asia. His firm inspects and certifies ships.
"There are 45 LNG tankers of 200,000 cubic meters capacity on order at Korean shipyards for Qatari gas projects," Tustin said. These orders include tankers of 209,000 cubic meters in size, known as the Q-flex, and 266,000, or Q-max, said Tustin, who has spent 23 years in the shipping industry. Each Q-max carrier costs about $300 million, he said.
Oil companies plan to spend a record $292 billion this year on oil and gas exploration, production and refining as demand for fuel increases, analysts at Lehman Brothers Holdings have said. That has increased the need for vessels and helped yards in South Korea, the world's biggest shipbuilding nation, to grab almost half of last year's global orders for new ships.
As of January, there are orders for more than 140 LNG carriers with sizes exceeding 138,000 cubic meters, Tustin said, citing a report by Fairplay, a shipping newsletter.
Samsung Heavy has a backlog of 43 LNG carriers, more than any other company, the company said in a regulatory filing on March 15. There are 219 LNG carriers in operation worldwide currently, transporting gas super-cooled to liquid for transport by ships.
Oil companies will invest 9 percent more this year than in 2006, according to the Lehman report. Oil prices have more than doubled in the past five years, making it more profitable for producers to invest offshore.