Qatar Petroleum has signed an agreement with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) to reserve LNG ship construction capacity in China.
Qatar Petroleum will use it for its future LNG carrier fleet requirements. According to the agreement, a significant portion of Hudong’s LNG ship construction capacity in China will be reserved for Qatar Petroleum until 2027.
Both parties held a virtual meeting and the agreement was also signed virtually by Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and Lei Fanpei, chairman of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited.
Al-Kaabi told the media, “Today, we have taken yet another concrete step to reinforce Qatar’s commitment to its global reputation as a safe and reliable LNG producer at all times and under all circumstances. By entering into this agreement to reserve a major portion of Hudong’s LNG ship construction capacity through the year 2027, we are confident that we are on the right track to ensuring that our future LNG fleet requirements will be met in due time to support our increasing LNG production capacity.”
“The value of this landmark agreement has the potential to be well in excess of 11 billion Qatari Riyals, depending on our requirements and the extent of China’s LNG shipbuilding capacity expansion. To this end, Qatar Petroleum is pleased and proud to support the expansion of the LNG ship construction capacity in China and looks forward to further growth in the near future.”