QatarEnergy has signed an industry record $6-billion agreement with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) to construct 18 ultra-modern QC-Max-sized LNG vessels as part of Qatar’s LNG fleet expansion program. China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, a wholly owned subsidiary of CSSC, will build the state-of-the-art 271,000-m3 vessels.
The agreement was signed in Beijing on 29 April by Energy Minister and CEO and President of Qatar Energy, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi; Chen Jianliang, chairman of Hudong‐Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co. Ltd., and Li Hongtao, chairman of China Shipbuilding Trading Co. Ltd. in Beijing.
Speaking at the ceremony, Al-Kaabi noted that the order was “the industry’s largest single shipbuilding contract ever” and that the LNG vessels themselves will be “the largest ever LNG vessels by size” constructed to date, according to a news release.
Al-Kaabi also highlighted that 12 conventional-sized LNG vessels are currently under construction at Hudong-Zhonghua, with first deliveries expected in Q3 2024.
Of the 18 vessels, eight will be delivered in 2028 and 2029, with the final 10 expected in 2030 and 2031, according to QatarEnergy.
Also related to its fleet expansion, QatarEnergy announced in March that it had signed Time Charter Party agreements for 104 conventional-sized vessels (174,000 m3), constituting the largest shipbuilding and leasing program ever in the history of the industry.
Qatar and China’s Growing Cooperation in LNG
In 2023, Sinopec acquired a 1.25% interest in Qatar’s North Field East project and a 1.875% interest in the North Field South project, while at the same time signing 27-year LNG sales and purchase agreements for a total of 7 mtpa.
In addition, CNPC acquired a 1.25% interest in the North Field East project and signed a 27-year LNG sales and purchase agreement for 4 mtpa.
QatarEnergy reported that in 2023 it had supplied nearly 17 million tons of LNG to its main customers in China.
