Middle East LNG producer Qatargas has received final technical offers for the large number of LNG carrier newbuildings sought by Qatar Petroleum for its expansion and fleet renewal.
Those following the business said offers were submitted in two parts, with the second due on 28 April.
Bidders tendering for the vessels had to complete a vast amount of paperwork in just four to six weeks.
Waiting time
The shipowners must now wait to see if they have been selected to commercial offers.
According to the original timeline laid out in Qatar Petroleum's 26 March tender, commercial bids will be due in July.
However, LNG market players said the winning shipowner may not be selected until September. This is due to the large number of permutations for offers and the potential for a diverse array of participating owners, combined with a traditionally a quieter holiday period in Qatar during August.
Qatar Petroleum has nominated Qatargas to handle the tender on its behalf.
Shipowners have yet to contact the four shipbuilders — South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries, and China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) — where Qatar Petroleum has reserved a total of 151 berth slots.
But shipbuilding sources suggest that once owners have been shortlisted, yards might be brought into the frame.
Chartering choices
In making their technical bids, 37 pre-qualified shipowners have had to consider eight vessel specifications and at least four main charter periods.
Each of the four yards offered two 174,000-cbm vessel designs — one for ME-GI propulsion systems, the other for X-DF engines.
Owners were also asked to bid on a charter period of 10, 12, 15 or 20 years, with options to extend up to 25 years.
Qatar Petroleum — which has not yet given a clear price for its reserved LNG carrier berths — has also expressed an interest in vessel efficiency measures such as air lubrication and reliquefaction.
The liquefaction giant has eight firm berths and a similar number of optional slots reserved at Hudong-Zhonghua, and up to 45 berths reserved at each of the South Korean yards.
The delivery dates pencilled in start from the end of 2023 and stretch into 2026.
Qatargas is expected to assign selected owners to shipyard berths.
Qatar is making its raid on LNG newbuildings to cover its exports from the country’s North Field Expansion project, which will raise its nameplate production from 77 million tonnes per annum to 126 mtpa by 2027.
The tiny Middle East Gulf state has said it also needs vessels for fleet renewal and its Golden Pass LNG export project in the US.
