State owned Qatar Petroleum (QP) announced that it has entered into an agreement with China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group Co. to reserve LNG construction capacity, according to a press release.

This investment is to be utilized for future LNG fleet requirements, including QP’s ongoing North Field expansion projects. It is expected that the North Field expansion projects will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million tons per annum to 126 million tons per annum.

The agreement was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs; the President and CEO of QP; and Lei Fanpei, the Chairman of CSSC, in a virtual ceremony held today in the presence of Qatargas’s CEO.

In accordance with the agreement, a significant portion of Hudong’s LNG ship construction capacity will be reserved for QP until 2027.

Al-Kaabi added, “The value of this landmark agreement has the potential to be well in excess of 11 billion Qatari Riyals, depending on our requirements and the extent of China’s LNG shipbuilding capacity expansion. To this end, QP is pleased and proud to support the expansion of the LNG ship construction capacity in China and looks forward to further growth in the near future.”