YLNG Expected To Generate $10-20Bn Over 20 Years, Says General Manager
The Yemen LNG (YLNG) project is expected to generate some $10-20bn over the project’s 20-25-year lifespan, according to Joel Fort, General Manager of the project. In an interview with Yemen Times of 17 July, Mr Fort said the $3.7bn project was the largest investment in Yemen and central to the country’s development. The agreements between YLNG and the Yemeni government guarantee minimum selling prices which protect the state in the unlikely event that LNG prices collapse, while at the same time allowing it to benefit from high prices. The company has set up a training center at a cost of $35mn to train 300 technical staff to operate the liquefaction plant at Belhaf. So far 134 trainees have completed the first stage of their two-year training at the center which includes an intensive English language course, preparation for theoretical and practical training in oil and gas technology, and electrical and mechanical engineering.
The Belhaf plant is under construction, along with a pipeline to connect the two gas processing centers in Marib, a spur line to the city of Ma'bar to supply domestic consumption, and a 320km/38in pipeline from the processing centers to the liquefaction plant. Belhaf was chosen based on a balance of technical and environmental protection considerations. The location “has the lowest geotechnical risk, natural protection from the main eastern waves of the winter monsoon – thereby eliminating the need for a breakwater, the lowest downtime due to wind, and a naturally deep harbor which reduces jetty length and dredging requirements and which can accommodate large-capacity LNG carriers,” said Mr Fort. An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was updated in 2005, and compensation agreed with local fisherman, he added.
Kogas Increases YLNG Stake To 8.88%
The Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas) has increased its stake in the YLNG project to 8.88% following its acquisition of a 2.88% stake from Hyundai Corporation. Kogas is one of YLNG’s three off-takers (along with Tractebel and Total Gas and Power) and exercised its option to take a 6% stake in the project last July (MEES, 4 July). France’s Total is the project leader with a 39.6% stake, with Hunt Oil of the US (17.2%), the Yemen Gas Corporation and SK Corporation.
