| December 2, 2004 |
| |
| Japanese Consortium signs a Long-Term Charter Agreement
for a New LNG Carrier with Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co. Ltd II |
| |
| Doha, Qatar - A consortium comprising Mitsui O.S.K. Lines,
Ltd. (MOL), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K"
Line) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui) announced the signing of a 25 year long-term
charter agreement on December 1 for a new 145,000 m3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier
to transport LNG for Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co. Ltd II (RasGas II).
This follows four earlier agreements for LNG carriers signed on October 16, 2002, January
16, 2003 and October 16, 2003, bringing to five the total number of LNG carriers now
transporting LNG for RasGas II. |
| |
| The consortium signed a shipbuilding contract with Samsung
Heavy Industries Co., Ltd for the construction of the new ship. The new ship, which will
feature a membrane cargo containment system, is scheduled for delivery in January 2007.
The ship will be employed in the exportation of LNG from Ras Laffan, Qatar to Europe. NYK
will be appointed as the shipmanager of the ship. |
| |
| RasGas II, a company 70% owned by Qatar Petroleum and 30% by
ExxonMobil, was established to expand LNG facilities to a production capability of 15.0
million tons of LNG annually, for export mainly to Indian and European markets. |
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| For more information, please contact: |
| |
| MOL |
|
Yutaka Matsubara |
|
|
Manager, LNG Carrier Group (C) |
|
|
LNG Carrier Division |
|
|
Tel: 81-3-3587-7367/Fax:
81-3-3587-7737 |
| NYK |
|
Keiji Kubota |
|
|
Manager, No.2 LNG Team |
|
|
LNG Group |
|
|
Tel: 81-3-3284-5610/Fax:
81-3-3284-6378 |
| "K" Line |
|
Tomoyuki Okawa |
|
|
Manager, LNG Team No.2 |
|
|
LNG Group |
|
|
Tel: 81-3-3595-5500/Fax:
81-3-3595-5512 |
| Mitsui |
|
Yoshikazu Seki |
|
|
Manager, LNG & Ship Project
Department |
|
|
Ship & Marine Project Division |
|
|
Tel: 81-3-3285-4452/Fax:
81-3-3285-9778 |
|