Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and MISC Bhd signed a 20-year time charter agreement for five liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers.
“MISC will provide project management services throughout the shipbuilding phase, followed by operationalization and ship management of the vessels upon delivery beginning 2029”, Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas said in a press release.
“This integrated approach ensures greater operational continuity and reliability from construction to commercial operations, leveraging MISC’s extensive experience in LNG vessel management”.
The vessels will be built in Shanghai, China. The charter contracts will take effect between 2029 and 2030, Petronas said.
“The vessels will incorporate modern and efficiency-driven technologies aligned with evolving environmental and operational standards. These include the latest XDF2.1 propulsion technology, shaft generators that enhance fuel efficiency during voyages, and an onboard reliquefaction plant to effectively manage boil-off”, Petronas said.
As of last year, Petronas’ fleet of LNG, crude and oil products carriers consisted of 108 vessels, according to its report of results for 2025.
In 2025 Petronas delivered 563 LNG cargoes including 383 cargoes from the Petronas LNG complex in the Bintulu district of Sarawak state and 41 cargoes from floating facilities PFLNG Satu and PFLNG Dua. LNG sales totaled 36.62 million metric tons, according to the report.
Last year Petronas and its partners began exporting from LNG Canada. On July 7, 2025 Petronas said it had shipped its first production share from the British Columbia facility to Japan. Each joint venture participant is responsible for marketing their net volumes, according to the joint venture LNG Canada Development Inc.
“LNG Canada is a critical component of Petronas’ global LNG strategy to diversify its supply portfolio and increase market flexibility”, Petronas said then.
“Strategically located on Canada’s west coast and connected to Petronas’ upstream gas assets in Northeast BC, LNG Canada offers a direct and efficient shipping corridor to key north Asian markets including Japan, South Korea and China”, Petronas added.
LNG Canada has a declared capacity of 14 million tons a year. Petronas previously held 25 percent of LNG Canada. On December 17, 2025 MidOcean Energy announced the completion of its acquisition of a 20 percent stake in the Petronas subsidiary involved in LNG Canada and 20 percent in Petronas’ upstream arm in the North American country.