Chairman of KOTC says will buy tankers from South Korean firm as part of USD1.75 billion expansion
Kuwait's Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) expects to receive a total of nine new tankers from South Korean companies in 2014/2015, as part of its announced USD1.75 billion fleet expansion, the company's chairman told a newspaper.
KOTC will get five crude tankers from Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and four more for petroleum products from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, chairman Bader al-Khashti told Kuwaiti daily al-Rai in an interview published on Wednesday.
This will be the third phase of its tanker expansion.
"It is expected that we will receive all of the nine tankers during the fiscal year 2014/2015," he said.
State-owned KOTC will be paying around USD556 million for the new ships from Daewoo.
Daewoo is also upgrading four existing tankers as part of a deal signed with KOTC in January, Khashti said.
In the fourth phase of its fleet expanion which will take place between 2014-2018, the Kuwaiti group plans to buy five more tankers to carry oil products and three more for liquefied natural gas (LNG), he said. This will bring KOTC's fleet to 31 tankers by 2017/2018, he said.
The total cost of the phase three and four expansion will be KWD493.5 million (USD1.75 billion) he added.
OPEC member Kuwait pumps around three million barrels per day.
Source: Reuters