LNG TRANSPORT FLEET READIED, SAYS COMPANY

SANA'A, Oct. 19 (Saba) - The Yemeni Liquefied Natural Gas Company
announced on Monday that 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