QatarEnergy will order 30 to 40 additional LNG carriers in 2023, according to shipping industry Network。
Qatar Energy is now resuming talks with South Korean shipbuilders, with company representatives planning to visit HD Hyundai (formerly Hyundai Heavy Industries), Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding to discuss the remaining berths it has booked at the three shipbuilders.
Qatar Energy is expected to build 30 to 40 LNG carriers at South Korea's three largest shipbuilders in 2023, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2027。
With this, Qatar's "100 Ships Plan" has entered the second phase of a new shipbuilding project.
In 2022, Qatar Energy cooperated with 14 shippers to order 66 LNG carriers from HudongZhonghua Shipbuilding of China and three major shipbuilders of South Korea.
Qatar Energy is also likely to hold talks with one or two Chinese shipbuilders next, sources said. Some observers believe that Qatar Energy, which secured 12 LNG carrier berths at Hudongzhonghua Shipbuilding in 2022, is unlikely to order additional LNG carriers at Hudongzhonghua Shipbuilding this time, as Hudongzhonghua Shipbuilding's order schedule has been extended to 2028.
In addition, Qatari LNG operator Nakilat is expected to be added to the list of partner shipowners in the second phase of the 100 Ships project, according to observers. The company currently operates a total of 69 LNG carriers.
At the same time, Qatar Energy wants to adjust and modify the specifications of the second batch of new LNG carriers in order to ensure the optimal efficiency of the ships, as the specifications of the first phase of the 100 Ships Plan were developed before 2020. But the move could prompt fresh negotiations between Qatar and shipbuilders over the price of new ships.
During the first phase of the 100 Ships Project, Qatar negotiated with shipbuilders for the price of new LNG carriers at a "friendly price" as the price of new ships rose.
In response, shipping brokers said that in 2022, the price of new LNG carriers rose rapidly to more than $250 million, and will remain at that level for a long time. This is a certain negotiating advantage for shipbuilding companies.
There are also a number of independent shippers and LNG project developers vying for free LNG tanker berths with delivery dates of 2026.
In response, shipbuilders said that while shipbrokers expect the delivery of 17 LNG carriers by HD Hyundai and Samsung Heavy Industries for the Mozambique LNG project to be delayed and shipbuilding berths to be made available, there are almost no spare shipbuilding berths for LNG carriers to be delivered before 2026.
