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Bigger ships to handle ever larger volumes of exports – the opening day of Gastech, the annual mega event for the LNG sector, has seen a flurry of significant announcements to highlight just how fast the LNG export business is growing globally.
LNG newbuild orders have been placed in record volumes over the past couple of years and shipyards clearly anticipate the volume of orders to keep flooding in as, while at other shipping-related exhibitions the scale of shipyard stands has been dramatically reduced over the past decade, the size and expense of the exhibiting shipbuilding groups at Gastech in Singapore is testament to a shipping sector in rude health.
In dwt terms, the fleet orderbook to extant fleet ratio stands at a record 52.2% according to the latest data from Clarksons Research, with 332 gas ships on order set to take the global LNG fleet past the 1,000 mark in the coming couple of years, and no sign of a slowdown in contracts being signed. Broker Braemar is forecasting the global LNG fleet will expand by 36% between now and 2027.
Commenting on the LNG orderbook, Andrew Craig-Bennett, Splash’s lead columnist, noted earlier this year: “The reasons for the LNG orders are plain for all to see – a genuine replacement of pipelines with sea miles, which is likely to be permanent, as ships allow a choice of suppliers, and the world is feeling much less certain now.”
At Gastech many of the top exporters are outlining how they intend to ramp shipments in the coming years, led by Qatar, who continue to seek ever larger ships to move their cargoes.
To this end, class society ABS has today issued an approval in principle (AIP) to China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard for its new five-tank, 344 m long record-breaking 271,000 cu m design, some 11,000 cu m larger than the biggest gas ships afloat today. The ship typed has been called Global Max by its Chinese designers.
“Vessels with larger capacities and modern, efficient propulsion systems will be integral to sustainably supporting future LNG needs around the world,” said John McDonald, ABS president and COO.
Among other key news from the opening day of the show, Louisiana’s Venture Global LNG announced its long-term expansion plan to increase production from 70m tonnes per annum to more than 100m tonnes of nameplate LNG export capacity to make it one of the world’s biggest exporters. To support this initiative, Venture Global and Baker Hughes have executed an expanded master equipment supply agreement for the delivery of additional liquefaction train systems and power island systems for Venture Global’s future LNG export projects.
“Now more than ever we are committed to our mission of delivering low-cost LNG at a larger scale to support the world’s growing demand for energy security, prosperity, and environmental progress,” said Mike Sabel, CEO of Venture Global.
Also on the supply side, Nigeria’s minister of state for gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo, spoke at the conference today, saying his country can increase its production to more than 5bn cu ft per day by 2030, while Indonesia’s director general of oil and gas, Tutuka Ariadji, said BP’s Tangguh Train-3 LNG project in West Papua will be in commercial operation by year-end.
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