BG Group orders 2 LNG ships from Samsung Heavy

SEOUL, May 16 (Reuters) - UK gas producer BG Group plc (BG.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday that it had signed an agreement to buy two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd (010140.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) for an undisclosed sum.

The new-build dual-fuel diesel electric vessels will each have a cargo capacity of 170,000 cubic metres and are scheduled for delivery in 2010, BG said in a statement.

The British company did not give the value of the deal, while Samsung declined to comment.

BG Group's current LNG shipping fleet consists of more than 20 owned and chartered vessels.

To date, Samsung has constructed and delivered eight ships for the BG Group.

(Reporting by Kim Yeon-hee; Editing by Keiron Henderson and Jonathan Hopfner)