Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 -- Qatargas has delivered its first shipment of LNG using one of its chartered Q-Flex vessels.
The Al Gattara left Doha on Dec. 3 and arrived at Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s terminal in northern Japan, completing her maiden cargo voyage without incident, said Ahmed Al Khulaifi, chief operating officer for shipping.
The newly designed Q-Flex vessels have on-board liquefaction capacity and about 40% lower energy requirements and carbon emissions than conventional vessels due to the economies of scale created by their size and the efficiency of their engines.
Qatar Gas Transport Co. Ltd. and OSG International Inc. jointly own the Al Gattara, which Qatargas has chartered on a long-term basis.
Meanwhile, Qatargas has signed a supply contract for 700,000 tonnes/year of LNG from the Qatargas 2 venture to be shipped starting in 2009 to Mexican power company Total Gas & Power.
The LNG will be supplied from Qatargas 2's Train 5, which is expected to come on stream in 2009, supplying Mexico's Altamira terminal and opening a new market for Qatari LNG's 31 million tonnes/year exports.
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].