QatarEnergy Appoints Nakilat as Owner, Operator of up to 25 LNG Vessels

QatarEnergy has selected the Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat) to be the owner and operator of up to 25 conventionally sized LNG carriers pursuant to Time Charter Parties (TCP) to be entered into by affiliates of QatarEnergy and Nakilat. This is the first award in the second batch of long-term TCPs under QatarEnergy’s LNG fleet expansion project. QatarEnergy plans on selecting additional bidders as vessel owners and will announce these awards in due course.

“We are pleased to announce this partnership with Nakilat, which reflects our confidence in Qatar’s flagship LNG shipping and maritime company,” said Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy. “We are equally proud to see this LNG transportation compete as part of a global tender and be able to win on a competitive basis. This is a testament to Nakilat’s capabilities as well as to the significant contributions of listed companies to the national economy.”

In 2022, QatarEnergy signed a number of TCPs for the long-term charter and operation of 60 LNG vessels, finishing the first phase of its fleet expansion program to support and meet future requirements for the company’s North Field East and North Field South expansion projects. The 25 vessels for this TCP each have a capacity of 174,00 cubic meters and will be owned completely by Nakilat and chartered out to affiliates of QatarEnergy.

The company will also support shipping requirements for QatarEnergy Trading to serve its global LNG portfolio, including natural gas volumes to be produced from the Golden Pass LNG export project. In addition, part of the trading program is intended to cater for replacement requirements of the existing Qatar LNG fleet. These vessels are scheduled for construction at South Korean shipyards.

“QatarEnergy is moving firmly in building its future LNG fleet, expected to be in excess of one hundred vessels. We look forward to announcing the names of additional successful bidders in the near future,” added Minister Al-Kaabi.