Multi-vessel deal sets the seal on QatarEnergy’s massive LNG shipbuilding quest

Qatar’s state-owned energy giant QatarEnergy has crossed the finish line for its historic liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleet expansion program by inking long-term time charter party (TCP) agreements with the joint venture (JV) of Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K Lines Ltd. (MOL) and China’s COSCO Shipping LNG Investment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (CSLNG) for six QC-Max size LNG vessels.

QatarEnergy’s shipbuilding program has grown considerably since the first set of orders, with the latest six-vessel order, placed with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), in September 2024, bringing the tally to 128. The company’s new TCP deals enable the JV, encompassing MOL and CSLNG, to own and operate six QC-Max size LNG vessels.

These LNG carriers will be built in China by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group, a subsidiary of CSSC, as the last batch of the 128 LNG vessels in the Qatari player’s shipbuilding program, made up of 104 conventional and 24 QC-Max mega vessels.

The MOL-CSLNG joint venture already entered long-term TCP agreements with QatarEnergy for seven conventional LNG vessels, executed in 2022, giving it a total of 13 long-term TCPs under the Qatari giant’s LNG fleet expansion program.

The latest TCP agreements were awarded to the shipowners during a special ceremony held in Doha under the patronage of Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy.

Among others who took part in the ceremony were Takeshi Hashimoto, President and Chief Executive Officer of MOL, and Zhang Feng, Vice President of China COSCO Shipping Corporation, in the presence of senior executives from both shipowners, QatarEnergy, and QatarEnergy LNG.

Al-Kaabi highlighted: “This is the last batch of long-term shipowner contracts in our 128-vessel strong historic shipbuilding program that will cater for QatarEnergy’s future LNG fleet requirements for our LNG expansion projects, as well as the replacement requirements of some of our existing fleet.

“We are proud to have forged very important partnerships and business relations with many companies and joint ventures including today’s new partnership with MOL and COSCO Shipping.”

Recently, QatarEnergy inked a new long-term sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Shell to supply 3 million tons of LNG per year to China. This follows two previous long-term LNG deals the duo inked for up to 3.5 mtpa of LNG from Qatar to the Netherlands for 27 years.