Delegates at the recent DNV Maritime forum on LNG in London heard that Qatar Gas Transport Co, also known as Nakilat, plans to hold a majority interest in projects costing USD 20bn
Addressing delegates at the forum hosted by DNV’s London Maritime Service Centre, Nakilat’s marketing director Christian Steimler reaffirmed the company’s aspiration to hold a majority interest in projects costing USD 20bn, which includes full control of some of Qatar’s LNG fleet.
To date, Nakilat has acquired stakes of 30–60 percent in 28 LNG carriers. According to Steimler, the company will also own interests in 35–40 additional vessels which will serve Qatar’s next five large liquefaction trains.
“Ultimately, Nakilat would have interests in 70–100 LNG carriers costing about USD16.5bn. In addition, we also plan to invest USD2.5bn in new LPG ships and build a new major ship repair yard in Ras Laffan for about USD1.bn,” said Steimler.
Global LNG trades
Wilhelm Magelssen, head of DNV Maritime’s business and marketing department, also gave a presentation covering developments in LNG shipping. “We are now seeing significant expansion of global LNG trades, also across more benign waters, including cold-climate areas like Sakhalin and the Arctic,” he said. “As a consequence, future LNG vessels will need to be manned by experienced crews as the world fleet grows.”
Debby Turner, director of LNG and gas research at Braemer Seascope, highlighted the growing practice of price arbitrage in the industry. “Cargoes initially destined for Britain had been turned-round and ended up in the US,” she said.
“Although the future LNG market will probably feature stiffer competition between players, the long-term contract market is expected to remain the exclusive preserve of companies above a certain size and with good financing”
Knut Stangebye Olsen, business development manager at Bergesen WorldWide Gas, predicts that although the future LNG market will probably feature stiffer competition between players, the long-term contract market is expected to remain the exclusive preserve of companies above a certain size and with good financing.
New and more efficient technology has made LNG exports more profitable and more competitive stated Dr. Hans J. Gaetjens, managing director of Marine Services. He believes we can, in future, expect changes in the form of “larger vessels and more efficient propulsion systems to push transport costs down further and make LNG even more competitive.”
The forum also included presentations from DNV’s Bjørgulf Haukelid and Helge Hermundsgård covering a range of services, including DNV SeaSkill and risk management in LNG transportation.
“Feedback from the delegates has been positive. Our one-day forum offered key discussion sessions on commercial and technical aspects, and valuable networking opportunities for all involved,” said organiser Michael Lavidas, DNV’s maritime manager in the UK.
Lion’s share
DNV classes 28 units in the current LNG fleet and recently won the lion’s share of Qatar’s second batch of orders with seven of twelve mega carriers over 200,000m3 ordered for the Ras Gas III project to be built in Korea. The four 217,000m3 ships for Teekay are the largest LNG carriers on order to date.