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Asif Iqbal
Doha
Qatar's capacity to send or divert its natural gas to any part of the world gives the country a distinct advantage over its competitors, former energy minister Abdallah bin Hamad al Attiyah has said.
This is made possible by Qatar's fleet of LNG carriers comprising the Q-Max and Q-Flex vessels, he said, while delivering a lecture at the Georgetown University recently.
The development of Q-Flex and Q-Max LNG tankers has helped the country make quantum leaps in its supply capabilities. The Q-Max ships are the largest LNG carriers in the world and have carrying capacities of almost a million cubic feet apiece, while the smaller Q-Flex vessels have a carrying capacity between 210,000 and 216,000 cubic metre.
"These huge vessels give us the flexibility to send cargoes to any destination, making us a reliable source of energy," Attiyah said.
The Q-Max vessels belong to Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat). In Q-Max, the"Q"stands for Qatar and"Max"for the maximum size of ship able to dock at the LNG terminals in Qatar.
First commissioned in 2005, the first Q-Max vessel was put into operation in 2008. Nakilat's LNG shipping fleet is the largest in the world, comprising 63 vessels.
The construction of Q-Max and Q-Flex was mainly done by South Korean shipbuilding conglomerates Daewoo, Samsung and Hyundai. Of the two types, the Q-Maxs have almost attained a legendary status in maritime logistics.
"These LNG vessels are playing a key role in the country's LNG supply chain and are capable of meeting all the demands of its customers," Attiyah said.
He said the carriers have brought radical changes to the operational viability of LNG tankers. The Q-Max and the Q-Flex vessels are extensively used in operations in European, American and several other Asian ports.
"When Japan was hit by tsunami, it needed additional supplies of conventional fuel for its power plants because several of its 54 nuclear reactors were shut down. During this crisis, Qatar stepped in to help. It dispatched more than 60 extra tankers of LNG to help power the country," Attiyah said, adding that the extra shipment of about four million tonnes of the super-cooled fuel was enough to provide electricity to five million Japanese homes."
