The Ministry of Energy and Industry of Qatar has announced plans to order 60 new LNG carriers (LNGCs), which are likely to be built by South Korean shipbuilders. This order confirms the country's plans to strengthen its leading position on the global market. However, financial details of the plan were not disclosed.
Qatar is South Korea’s largest supplier of LNG and one of its largest oil suppliers, making it a key partner in the energy cooperation sector. Meanwhile, most of Qatar's LNGC fleet was built in South Korea. State-run LNG company Qatargas previously ordered 45 LNGCs (31 Q-Flex and 14 Q-Max designs) from the three top South Korean shipbuilders, namely Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. Q-Flex and Q-Max are LNG vessels capable of transporting 210,000 m3 and 266,000 m3 of LNG respectively, and their capacity is more than 40% larger than the standard 150,000 m3 LNG carrier.
Qatar is currently the largest LNG producer worldwide, thanks to 14 liquefaction trains with a cumulated capacity of 77 Mt/year. In September 2018, the country raised its LNG capacity expansion target, from 100 Mt/year to 110 Mt/year, representing an increase of 43% from its current production capacity. The group now plans to build a fourth LNG train of around 8.6 Mt/year, on top of the three 7.8 Mt/year train previously announced and expected in 2024, adding 32 Mt/year of liquefaction capacity.