Turkish Maritime reported that Nakilat has crossed a major milestone by acquiring its 50th ship dedicated to supplying Qatars liquefied natural gas to customers worldwide.
The gas transporters fleet will have a total strength of 54 LNG ships the worlds largest, which will be achieved in 2010. South Koreas three major shipbuilders Hyundai, Samsung and Daewoo have taken up the mammoth Qatari order worth USD 16 billion to construct 54 ships for the state. 31 of these ships will be in the Q-Flex category, 14 are Q-Max and nine conventional carriers. All of these will either be wholly owned by Nakilat or through JV in which it participates. Nakilat will provide all the 54 ships to RasGas and Qatargas on a long charter.
The Q-Flex and the even larger Q-Max are a new generation of LNG mega ships with about 40% lower energy requirements and carbon emissions than conventional vessels due to the economies of scale created by their size and the efficiency of the engines. The 50th LNG ship Al Dafna in the Q-Max class was named by HE the deputy Premier Mr Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah also Nakilat chairman in South Korea. Mr Al Dafna will be given to RasGas on a long term charter.
Qatar is now the world’s largest exporter and trans shipper of LNG. Currently, 10 LNG trains are in operation 5 each at RasGas and Qatargas. They account for 45 million tonnes per year. When the scheduled development is complete, Qatar’s LNG production will top 77 million tonne per year from 14 trains. Approximately 99% of Qatar’s proven natural gas reserves are located in the North Field, which is estimated to be the largest non associated gas field in the world.
In commercializing the North Fields approximately 900 tonnes cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, Qatar has embarked on one of the most ambitious global energy development programs in recent history. LNG is the key to this commercialization strategy. The company has become Qatar’s "floating pipeline" to the global market and will play the leading role in transporting Qatar’s natural gas.
Nakilat which in Arabic means carriers was established in 2004 and is a joint stock company owned 50% by its founding shareholders and 50% by the public as a result of an IPO in 2005. It is also involved in developing a new world class ship repair and dry dock facility in Ras Laffan. The company has formed a joint venture with Keppel Offshore & Marine to operate the new yard.
(Sourced from Turkish Maritime)
