Middle East producer QatarEnergy is getting set to firm up seven pre-reserved LNG carrier berths at Chinese shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) with selected shipowners.

Those following the Qatari mega-project said Japanese shipowner NYK Line, possibly in partnership with others, is expected to take the lion’s share of the slots.

The shipowner has previously partnered with Malaysia’s MISC and China LNG Shipping (Holdings) on seven of the newbuilding slots that QatarEnergy has lined up at Hyundai Heavy Industries.