ConocoPhillips is being named in the market as the charterer of two LNG carrier newbuildings contracted at the beginning of the year by Qatari shipowner Nakilat.
Brokers said the US energy major has fixed the pair, ordered at HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea, for periods of at least five years each.
A ConocoPhillips spokesman said: “Unless formally announced by our company, ConocoPhillips does not comment on ongoing business development or commercial activities.”
Industry players said ConocoPhillips needs to secure tonnage to lift some of the 7.4m tonnes per annum of LNG it has snapped up.
They point to its 5 mtpa of offtake from Sempra Infrastructure’s Port Arthur project in Texas, where it has a 30% stake.
ConocoPhillips has also bought 2.2 mtpa from Mexico Pacific’s upcoming Saguaro Energia LNG and 0.2 mtpa from Sempra’s Energia Costa Azul in Baja California, Mexico.
Nakilat has been asked for confirmation and further details of the charters.
The Doha-listed company announced on 9 January that it had ordered two 174,000-cbm LNG carriers, along with a quartet of very large LPG/ammonia carriers.
The LNG carriers, priced at around $260m each, are due for delivery between 2026 and 2027.
Rumour mill
At the time there was surprise that Nakilat was going ahead with LNG carriers for its own account, as it was expected to be named for a swathe of vessels under Phase 2 of producing giant QatarEnergy’s colossal newbuilding project.
In the event, Nakilat went on to secure 34 more ships from QatarEnergy, which has boosted its LNG carrier fleet to 105 vessels.
Chat continued to swirl on other LNG time charter business during the Gastech meeting in Houston, Texas last week.
Talk among market participants pointed to Gail (India) as fixing Japanese-controlled tonnage for its long-term requirement for modern tonnage.
One LNG chartering specialist said Gail has earmarked a newbuilding supplied by Mitsui OSK Lines for the business. But others suggested K Line could be the preferred party.
Gail tendered for an LNG carrier to take on charter for a minimum of seven years with the option to extend the hire to the end of 2038. It has floated the option of taking up to a 26% equity stake in the ship.
Rates for modern two-stroke tonnage for multi-year business have been floundering in the $80,000 to $90,000 per day range in the past few months.
This compares with levels of more than $100,000 per day that owners say are required to cover the cost of newbuildings in today’s high-priced market for vessels and finance costs.
