(Yicai Global) April 22 -- China State Shipbuilding Corporation has landed a CNY20 billion (USD2.8 billion) deal for a liquefied natural gas carrier, the country’s largest ever export order for a vessel, from Middle Eastern oil major Qatar Petroleum. The company’s shares rose.

Beijing-based CSSC, one of the world’s biggest shipbuilding conglomerates, outbid contenders from Japan and South Korea to win the first in a series of contracts to be offered by Doha-based Qatar Petroleum, the Shanghai Observer reported today. It was the only Chinese company in the running.

With a loading capacity of 174,000 cubic meters, the LNG carrier that will be built by CSSC’s Shanghai subsidiary Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. Like aircraft carriers and luxury cruise liners, LNG tankers are an extremely complex form of cargo ship that are very difficult to make. Hudong-Zhonghua, China’s only manufacturer of these vessels, has built more than 20 so far.

Shares of CSSC [SHA:600150] closed almost 3.5 percent higher today at CNY19.45 (USD2.75) apiece, after earlier jumping more than 5 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ticked up 0.6 percent.

Qatar Petroleum, the world’s biggest seller of LNG, has plans to build a super fleet of 100 LNG carriers over the next 10 years. Early last year, it said it would spend more than USD10 billion to build 60 such ships.

Editor: Kim Taylor