Petronas Adds Three LNG Carrier Newbuilds

Malaysia's state oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd is expanding its global fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers with three newbuild 174,000 cubic meter capacity vessels, the company said on Thursday.

The company, best known as Petronas, inked a time charter party (TCP) agreement with shipowner Hyundai LNG Shipping, which has signed shipbuilding contracts with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) for the construction of the three vessels that are expected to be delivered from the second quarter of 2024 on a staggered basis. The new ships will mainly be used to lift cargoes from the largescale LNG Canada project, Petronas said.

Petronas said this will enlarge its global LNG fleet to 27 small, medium and large vessels from 24, and help deliver LNG to over 25 countries from its supply points in Malaysia, Australia, Egypt and Canada. To date, Petronas claims to have delivered more than 11,500 LNG cargoes globally.

"Upon completion, these vessels would be amongst the most energy efficient LNG carriers ever built, with shaft generators powered by LNG," the company said. "These vessels are also installed with air lubrication systems that reduce hull resistance and are designed with an optimized hull design that reduces aerodynamic drag at sea."

"The eco-friendly vessels will be fitted with the Integrated Smart Ship Solution to enhance the performance monitoring process. Collectively, these features will give the identical vessels the lowest carbon emission footprint in their class," Petronas said.