The shipbuilders — Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Samsung Heavy Industries Co., and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME)—signed Monday with Qatar Petroleum a joint US$ 19.2 billion agreement to sell their LNG shipbuilding capacity to Qatar Petroleum by 2027.
The preliminary agreement, an arrangement preceding a major shipbuilding order, helps the Qatari company to secure so-called South Korean shipyard construction slots. In the near future the contract is projected to result in the procurement of more than 100 LNG carriers.
The three shipbuilding behemoths are now setting their eyes on potential orders from Russia and Mozambique with a megadeal from the Middle East country in the bag.
There is a growing expectation that Samsung Heavy Industries and DSME could bag orders from Russia 's top gas company. Last year Samsung Heavy Industries clinched a new order for the construction of five icebreaking LNG vessels from Novatek.
As it has joined forces with Russian shipbuilder Zvezda for the LNG project, Samsung Heavy Industries is reportedly pinning high hopes on the remaining 10 orders under Novatek's original plan.
It is widely anticipated that DSME and China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co. will win orders for the additional 10 LNG carriers — five each.
Watchers also said Mozambique is highly likely to place orders to build 16 LNG vessels late this year or early in 2021 for its LNG project.
The forecast comes as the US Export-Import Bank recently raised its support to the project to $6.5 billion, led by French oil and gas titan Total S.A.
Some analysts claim it is still too early to say that because of a Sino-U.S., the shipbuilding industry enjoys a turnaround from sluggish business last year. War on trade, and other negative factors.
Maritime Business World