Qatari Nakilat 9-Month Profit Down 19% on Year

Qatari LNG shipowner Nakilat October 22 reported a net profit of Qatari real 607mn ($160.5mn) for the first nine months of 2017, down 19% year on year.

The lower profit was mainly attributed to the effect of changing the estimated scrap value of vessels in accordance with applicable international accounting standards and the lower number of charter hire days, it said.

During the nine months, some significant developments took place on the operational front for the company. 

In August, Nakilat and Shell completed the first phase of a management transition of LNG carriers: Q-Max LNG carrier Al Mafyar was the 10th vessel to transition management from Shell to Nakilat Shipping Qatar (NSQL) in as many months, bringing about the completion of the first phase. This latest vessel transition brings the fleet size managed by NSQL to 18 vessels, comprising of 14 LNG carriers and four LPG carriers.

In July, Nakilat signed a memo of understanding with Norway-based Hoegh LNG to look at collaboration in the floating regas terminals (FSRUs) sector as part of its strategy to diversify its ways of delivering LNG to the global markets.

Shardul Sharma