Two Chinese companies have joined forces to order three LNG carrier newbuildings priced at CNY 4bn ($620m) for charter to Chinese National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC).

Hong Kong-registered company United LNG Transportation, which is co-owned by PetroChina and Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation (CSET), ordered the three 174,000-cbm vessels at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.

The reported price on the ships puts them at just over $200m each, reflecting the jump in steel prices experienced by shipbuilders.

The LNG carriers are due for delivery dates in 2024 and 2025.

In May, TradeWinds reported that CNOOC was out in the market with a requirement for three LNG newbuildings and was offering to sign up for charter periods of 10 years or more.

The company requested vessels fitted with low-pressure, XD-F propulsion systems, and it earmarked Hudong-Zhonghua to build the ships.

At least 10 shipowners were understood to have been invited to offer in on the business.

The orders come as CNOOC also emerged in the charter market for LNG carrier tonnage to take on hire for periods of at least six months. Shipowners were busy putting together offers for the company in the last few days.

The state-controlled Chinese energy giant has also been seen offering two of its under-construction LNG newbuildings, the 174,000-cbm Mu Lan and sistership Gui Yang, for sale.

The pair, which were ordered in early 2019 as part of a huge mixed newbuilding haul placed by CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping Leasing at Chinese shipyards, are listed as due for delivery in June and September.

CNOOC has been growing its LNG reach into the international markets.

The company has signed up to buy volumes from the Novatek-led Arctic LNG 2 project in the Russian Arctic, in which it is a 10% shareholder.

It has also indicated that it would be interested in buying into Qatar's $29bn North Field expansion project.

CNOOC is building China’s largest LNG storage facility at Yancheng Binhai Port Industrial Park in Jiangsu province.

The company is spending CNY 6.1bn to build 10 storage tanks, six of which are 270,000-cbm ultra large units, which are due to be online by the end of 2023.

The facility will be able to handle 6 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

The company, which has stakes in 13 of the country’s LNG terminals, said the new storage facility supports the government’s plan to increase natural gas supply and the country’s ambitions for carbon emissions to peak before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.