Yemen likely to build new LNG project

Amsterdam: Yemen's oil minister said yesterday that an assessment of total gas resources in the country may lead to the expansion of an existing $3.7 billion liquefied natural gas project being led by France's Total or the creation of a new LNG project.

"We are in the process of evaluating the total resources of gas in Yemen," Yemen's Oil and Minerals Minister Khalid Mahfoudh Bahan said at the World Gas Conference in Amsterdam.

"We have a lot of expectations in this process, that may lead us to add more trains on the same project, or add a new project by itself."

The Yemen LNG project, one of the main growth projects for French energy giant Total, is due to start by the end of 2008 with 2 trains and produce 6.7 million metric tonnes per year, Bahah said.

Disruptions in Russian gas pipeline supplies early this year have raised concerns over the constraints on gas supplies in Europe, and LNG has been identified as a key source for future energy needs.

The survey of Yemen's resources would take another year and a decision on adding trains or launching a new project will be made at the time, Bahah said.

The main factor in deciding the scale of expansion will be the location of newly identified gas resources, he said.