In 2020, QatarEnergy decided to enter Ship Slot Reservation Agreements with three Korean shipyards.

QatarEnergy celebrated the steel cutting of its first new generation liquified natural gas (LNG) vessel in South Korea on Saturday, marking a new milestone in the “historic Fleet Expansion project”.

In a press release, the Qatari state-owned energy company said the ceremony was held on Geoje Island alongside Samsung Heavy Industries and JP Morgan Asset Management.

Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, CEO of Qatargas, attended the ceremony on behalf of Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, QatarEnergy’s CEO and Doha’s minister of state for energy affairs.

“This event signifies an extension of QatarEnergy’s international collaborations and commitment to global partnerships and follows the October 2022 successful initiation of steel cutting at Hudong-Zhonghua, a Chinese shipyard renowned for its excellence in LNG shipbuilding,” the press release read.

In 2020, QatarEnergy, formerly Qatar Petroleum, decided to enter Ship Slot Reservation Agreements with three Korean shipyards—Samsung Heavy Industries, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering. 

Last year, the LNG giant inked deals with a number of entities for ship building, including affiliates of JP Morgan Asset Management.

QatarEnergy is a leader in LNG and is at the forefront of Qatar’s drive to dominate gas supplies through its multi-billion dollar North Field expansion project, the largest of its kind.

The $28.75 billion project is broken into two parts, the North Field East (NFE) and the North Field South (NFS).

NFE is set to ramp up Qatar’s production from 77 to 110 million tonnes per annum as the NFS will increase the production capacity from 110 to 126 million tonnes per annum.

QatarEnergy announced eight international partnership agreements last year for both phases of the projects, set to kick start in 2026 and 2027.