QatarEnergy awards first batch of LNG ship-owner contracts
QatarEnergy signed a series of time-charter parties (TCP’s) with a subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) for the long-term charter and operation of 4 LNG ships, constituting the first batch of TCPs awarded under QatarEnergy’s massive LNG shipping program.
Concurrent with the signing of the TCPs, back-to-back LNG carrier shipbuilding contracts were signed between MOL and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group (Hudong), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), for the construction of four new LNG carriers to serve QatarEnergy’s LNG growth projects and future fleet requirements.
Commenting on the occasion, His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said: “These contracts mark the start of the construction phase of QatarEnergy’s historic fleet expansion program in support of our LNG expansion projects. We are pleased to be working with our reliable business partners from China and Japan, namely: MOL, Hudong, and CSSC to take this important step together.â€
“We look forward to announcing many more such contracts in the near future in our relentless pursuit to ensure a reliable supply of additional clean energy to the world,†Minister Al-Kaabi concluded.