New companies to operate LNG vessels

Two new companies will own and operate two liquefied natural gas carriers to transport LNG from the Snøhvit Field in the Barents Sea. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisa, Mitsui & Co Ltd., Iino Kaiun Kaisa Ltd., and Statoil jointly own the two companies, Northern LNG Transport Co. I Ltd. and Co. II Ltd. The vessels are scheduled for delivery in November 2005 and April 2006. Sn?hvit and Statoil chartered the vessels for 20 years with Norsk Hydro, Amerada Hess, RWE-DEA, Svenska Petroleum, and Petoro.