Daewoo wins TeeKay LNG trio

Teekay Shipping Corporation based in Nassau, Bahamas, has placed an order with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering of South Korea to construct three LNG carriers, representing a total contract price of approximately $510 million.

These 151,700 cub metre newbuildings will be chartered by TeeKay to Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas, a joint venture company between a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corporation and Qatar Petroleum. The charter to RasGas II will be at fixed rates, with inflation adjustments, for a period of 20 years (with options to extend up to 35 years), commencing in late 2006 and early 2007.

“We are delighted to have been selected as a provider of LNG shipping services in Qatar, which is expected to become the largest exporter of LNG in the world within the next few years,” commented David Glendinning, President of Teekay?s Gas division. “The profitability of this transaction has been enhanced through an ?en bloc? order for all three vessels from one shipyard combined with an attractively priced, long-term fixed-rate loan facility that was locked in at interest rates below current levels.” Glendinning continued, “The RasGas II contracts are an excellent example of building on the strategic LNG platform that Teekay acquired with the Tapias transaction earlier this year.