Marubeni, SK Shipping Form LNG Carrier Venture

Japan's Marubeni and Korea's SK Shipping have formed a joint venture to transport shale gas based LNG from US to South Korea.

A joint venture will buy two LNG carriers to transport the fuel to South Korea from 2017, Sea Trade Global said in a report.

The LNG newbuildings of 180,000 cbm each will be constructed at Korean yard of Samsung Heavy Industries for $459m. One of the carriers will transport shale gas from the US to Korea while a second is expected to carry shale gas from Australia to Korea, Sea Trade Global said.

The joint venture firm, 49% owned by SK Shipping and 51% owned by Marubeni, will transport US-produced shale gas from October 2017 from Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana and supply to Korea Gas Corporation.

The two LNG carriers are expected to be leased to French oil firm Total for up to 30 years.