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Ceremony at Hyundai Heavy Industries Marks the Beginning of Boat Manufacturing for Nakilat, Aiming to Expand Qatar’s Global Leadership in LNG.
The Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), Qatar’s maritime transport company, announced the start of construction of 17 new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. The steel cutting ceremony took place at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in South Korea. These vessels will be operated by Nakilat and chartered to QatarEnergy.
Ceremony Marks Start of Construction at Hyundai Heavy Industries Shipyard
Nakilat confirmed the steel cutting for 17 new LNG carriers. The event took place at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Korea. Nakilat will own and operate up to 25 conventional-sized LNG carriers. These will be chartered to QatarEnergy affiliates under long-term contracts.
Agreements and Contracts Drive Billion-Dollar Project
The agreement between Nakilat and the Qatari company QatarEnergy was announced in February 2024. The signing took place a month later. The second phase of the Qatari giant’s LNG fleet expansion program began with a construction contract worth US$ 3.9 billion. This contract was finalized with Hyundai Heavy Industries in September 2023 for the 17 LNG carriers. These follow long-term time charter agreements (TCP) signed in April and August 2022.
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Comprehensive Expansion Program for QatarEnergy’s Fleet
The historic LNG fleet expansion program of QatarEnergy encompasses 128 vessels. This includes 24 QC-Max size LNG carriers. Nakilat has secured the charter and operation of nine of these state-of-the-art QC-Max LNG carriers. These are part of the Qatari energy company’s efforts to maintain and strengthen its position in the global LNG landscape.
Contribution from Other Shipyards and Additional Projects
The remaining eight vessels, out of the 25 that will be operated by Nakilat, are being built at the shipyard Hanwha Ocean. Formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the shipyard is also located in South Korea. The steel cutting ceremony for these eight LNG carriers was held in March 2025. The last steel cutting ceremony at HHI takes place soon after China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) begins construction of another LNG carrier for the QatarEnergy fleet. This construction is happening at the shipyard of Samsung Heavy Industries, in South Korea.
Global Leadership and Increase in LNG Production
With the same goal of consolidating its global position, QatarEnergy has also included another expansion project in the North Field portfolio. This is the North Field West (NFW) project, which expands the developments of the North Field East (NFE) and North Field South (NFS). As a result, the country’s LNG production capacity is expected to grow nearly 85% from current production levels by 2030.
With information from Offshore Energy.
