Qatar Gas Transport Co expects to add more ships and become the operator of world's biggest liquefied natural gas fleet by 2010 in a move that could drive down rates for shipping the fuel.
The company, known as Nakilat, will receive 45 of the world's largest LNG tankers from South Korean shipyards, managing director Muhammad Ghannam said in an interview in Bangkok on Thursday.
The deliveries for Nakliat include 31 of Q-Flex ships of 216,000cu m each, which is enough gas to power all of South Korea's households for almost two days, and 14 Q-Max, the world’s biggest class of LNG tankers, each with a capacity of 266,000cu m. The company will also add nine of the conventional 145,000 to 154,000 cu m tankers.
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co will deliver the world's biggest LNG carrier to Nakilat later this year, Park Jae Sung, manager of the company's gas carrier marketing team, said on Tuesday.
Kuala Lumpur-based MISC Bhd, currently the world's biggest LNG shipper, may add three tankers by 2009 to expand its fleet to 29, the company said on its website.
The rate of LNG tanker deliveries worldwide is outpacing the growth in supplies of the fuel, Deborah Turner, director of LNG at BS Energy Services, said in a separate interview on Thursday. The last of the 129 vessels on order will be delivered in 2011 and add to the 257 in operation today, she said. BS Energy is a unit of London-based Braemar Shipping Services.
''Today you get low day rates of $40,000 a day for new ships,'' Turner said. ''You need more than that to break even.'' She was referring to new ships on order today, which lack access to multi-year supplies and operate in the spot market.
The number of LNG tankers may increase by 46% to more than 360 by 2010, PVM Oil Associates GmbH said in a December report. Global LNG trade may climb by 6% a year by 2010, while LNG shipping capacity may grow at about 15%, the Vienna-based consultant said. Companies such as Korea Gas Corp, the world's largest LNG buyer, and Petronet LNG Ltd may gain from lower costs to import individual cargoes to meet soaring domestic demand for the cleaner-burning fuel.
The company, known as Nakilat, will receive 45 of the world's largest LNG tankers from South Korean shipyards, managing director Muhammad Ghannam said in an interview in Bangkok on Thursday.
The deliveries for Nakliat include 31 of Q-Flex ships of 216,000cu m each, which is enough gas to power all of South Korea's households for almost two days, and 14 Q-Max, the world’s biggest class of LNG tankers, each with a capacity of 266,000cu m. The company will also add nine of the conventional 145,000 to 154,000 cu m tankers.
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co will deliver the world's biggest LNG carrier to Nakilat later this year, Park Jae Sung, manager of the company's gas carrier marketing team, said on Tuesday.
Kuala Lumpur-based MISC Bhd, currently the world's biggest LNG shipper, may add three tankers by 2009 to expand its fleet to 29, the company said on its website.
The rate of LNG tanker deliveries worldwide is outpacing the growth in supplies of the fuel, Deborah Turner, director of LNG at BS Energy Services, said in a separate interview on Thursday. The last of the 129 vessels on order will be delivered in 2011 and add to the 257 in operation today, she said. BS Energy is a unit of London-based Braemar Shipping Services.
''Today you get low day rates of $40,000 a day for new ships,'' Turner said. ''You need more than that to break even.'' She was referring to new ships on order today, which lack access to multi-year supplies and operate in the spot market.
The number of LNG tankers may increase by 46% to more than 360 by 2010, PVM Oil Associates GmbH said in a December report. Global LNG trade may climb by 6% a year by 2010, while LNG shipping capacity may grow at about 15%, the Vienna-based consultant said. Companies such as Korea Gas Corp, the world's largest LNG buyer, and Petronet LNG Ltd may gain from lower costs to import individual cargoes to meet soaring domestic demand for the cleaner-burning fuel.