Samsung Heavy Industries Secures 15 LNG Carriers Worth 4.5 Trillion Won... Largest Single Contract to Date

by Oh Hyungil

Published 06 Feb.2024 09:38(KST)

Updated 07 Feb.2024 08:32(KST)

$3.7 Billion Orders This Year... Half of Last Year's Performance

Samsung Heavy Industries has succeeded in the second order of the Qatar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

On the 6th, Samsung Heavy Industries announced that it signed a construction contract with a Middle Eastern shipowner for 15 LNG carriers with a capacity of 174,000㎥ each. The contract amount is a total of 4.5716 trillion KRW, marking the largest single order in Samsung Heavy Industries' history.

LNG carrier built by Samsung Heavy Industries (Photo by Samsung Heavy Industries)

These vessels are scheduled to be delivered sequentially to the shipowner by October 2028.

With this contract, Samsung Heavy Industries' cumulative order performance this year reached a total of 17 vessels, including 15 LNG carriers and 2 Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs). In terms of amount, it achieved $3.7 billion, nearly half of last year's total order performance of $8.3 billion.

In particular, the backlog of high value-added vessels such as LNG carriers has reached about 90 vessels, solidifying its position for stable performance.

A Samsung Heavy Industries official stated, "With this large-scale order securing a significant amount of work, the profitability-focused selective order policy will be further strengthened."

Meanwhile, the Qatar government is promoting the Qatar project to expand annual LNG production from 77 million tons to 126 million tons by 2027. They are increasing orders for LNG carriers to transport the produced LNG worldwide by constructing new and expanding existing LNG terminals. Qatar Energy, Qatar's state-owned energy company, signed a contract for 17 vessels with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries last year.

Hanwha Ocean is reportedly negotiating with Qatar Energy for LNG carrier slots for 12 vessels. If the contract proceeds as planned, the total number of LNG carriers ordered by the three Korean shipbuilders in the Qatar second LNG carrier project is expected to reach 44 vessels.