Qatar names LNG carrier after former Exxon CEO

QatarEnergy has named a new LNG ship after former Exxon CEO and Energy Secretary Rex Tillerson, a move that honors the supermajor’s role in developing Qatar’s LNG industry and his legacy in energy.

The tanker is part of a batch of 12 LNG carriers that Qatar has ordered from a Chinese shipbuilder to secure capacity for future expansion of LNG production. The United States overtook Qatar as the world’s largest LNG exporter last year, but Qatar is pursuing a massive expansion program to increase its export capacity by 85% from current levels by 2030.

This increase in absolute terms will mean an increase in production capacity from 77 million tonnes per year to as much as 142 million tonnes per year.

While the United States halted the issuance of permits for new LNG export projects earlier this year, raising uncertainty about the outlook for U.S. supplies from the late 2020s, Qatar is pressing ahead with plans to expand production capacity – and now new ship charter agreements – that could see it become the largest LNG exporter again this decade.

As part of its expansion plans, earlier this year QatarEnergy announced the signing of long-term charter contracts (TCP) with four international shipowners to operate 19 new conventional-sized LNG vessels.

With demand for liquefied natural gas set to rise 50% by 2040, according to Shell, Qatar has no time to waste as the United States ramps up its own LNG export capacity, even as new approvals have stalled. But unlike American developers, QatarEnergy is banking on long-term supply contracts. The state-owned company has signed a slew of such deals this year alone.

“While we expect existing LNG buyers to wait in the short term, these and other potential new buyers may begin to look at competitive projects outside the U.S., such as those in Canada, Australia and particularly Qatar, as alternative sources of supply,” Giles Farrer, head of gas and LNG asset research at Wood Mackenzie, said in April.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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