Nakilat: Qatari Liquefied Natural Gas Shipper Is Diversifying to Target Shipbuilding and Repairs

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STRUCTURE

Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) was founded in 2004 to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the world's energy markets.

Nakilat is a joint stock company and has an authorised capital of QR5.6bn ($1.5bn). Half its shares are publicly-owned, following a stock market flotation in 2005.

Of the remaining shares, Qatar Navigation and Qatar Shipping each hold a 15 per cent stake. Other shareholders include Qatar Pensions Fund with 7 per cent, Qatar Petroleum with 5 per cent, and the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science & Community Development with 4 per cent.

OPERATIONS

Nakilat, which means carriers in Arabic, delivers Qatari LNG to markets in North America, Asia and Europe, including the US, Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and Spain. The company employs some 200 people, not including vessel crews.

In 2006, Nakilat announced it would build up its own fleet of dedicated …