SANA'A, Oct. 19 (Saba) – The Yemeni Liquefied Natural Gas Company announced on Monday that the maritime fleet to carry LNG produced at the Balhaf Plant in southern Yemen had been readied.

The company said in a statement that it had received four tankers with the capacity of 322.000 cubic meters of LNG that it had previously signed 20-year contracts for their rental according to international standards.

There are also three boats out of four anchored at the Balhaf coast that were produced by a Turkish company to transport LNG.

The company announced on Thursday LNG production began at the plant, expecting the first shipment of LNG to be exported within the next few weeks.

Minister of Oil and Minerals Amir Salim Al-Aidrous commented on the launch of LNG production saying it was a milestone marking the effective partnership between Yemen and international shareholders.

The $ 4.5 billion Balhaf LNG Plant is deemed the biggest investments Yemen has ever had as it was designed to pump natural gas from the block 18th in Mareb, in the east, through a 320-km-long pipeline to the Liquefaction Plant in Balhaf, Shabwa, along the Gulf of Aden.

LNG production has now started with the first train, while the second train is still under construction.

Yemen will export 5.7 million cubic meters of LNG a year.

The company will export produced LNG quantities by the plant under three 20-year contracts signed with the French Total Company, the Swiss GDF Company that will carry shipments to the U.S., and the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) which will transport LNG to South Korea.

The construction of the project started in 2005, creating almost
10.000 jobs at the liquefaction plant site and 3000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline.

The company attracted and qualified local employees for three years to run and operate the project and now seeks to Yemenize the workforce at various technical and administrative sections by 90 percent to help promote economic development in Yemen.

Over the next 20 years, the project is expected to bring in $ 30-50 billion that will help accelerate development and attract more world companies to invest in the country.

Total is the leading shareholder of Yemen LNG with a 39.62%
interest, alongside the state-owned company Yemen Gas Company (16.73%), Hunt Oil Company (17.22%), SK Energy (9.55%), Korea Gas Corporation (6%), Hyundai Corporation (5.88%), and GASSP1 (5%).

FR