Qatar Initiates LNG Ship Construction Programme

Qatar Petroleum April 22 said it has invited tenders for the reservation of ship construction capacity required for the LNG carrier fleet for its North Field Expansion (NFE) Project, which will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77mn mt/year to 110mn mt/year by 2024.

“With this significant step, Qatar Petroleum embarks on another major LNG ship-building campaign expected to initially deliver 60 LNG carriers in support of the planned production expansion, with a potential to exceed 100 new LNG carriers over the next decade,” CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said.

In addition to addressing shipping requirements for the North Field Expansion Project, the tender covers shipping requirements for the LNG volumes that will be purchased and offtaken by Ocean LNG (a 70:30 joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil) from the Golden Pass LNG export project in the US, which is currently under construction and is planned to start by 2024. The tender also includes options for replacement requirements for Qatar’s existing LNG fleet, the company said.

“This tender, along with the recently released engineering, procurement and construction tender for four new mega LNG trains planned as part of the North Field Expansion Project, constitute two monumental and historical milestones as we make major strides in our commitment towards the further development of the world’s largest non-associated gas field,” Al-Kaabi added.

Qatar Petroleum said it has entrusted Qatargas to execute this LNG ship building program on its behalf.