Sharjah National Oil Corporation (SNOC) and Uniper plan to start importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Sharjah through a joint venture company starting early 2019.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in October last year to import LNG into the Emirate’s Hamriyah Port.
In May this year, SNOC signed a deal with Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) for a full gas sales agreement targeting the supply of natural gas for power generation in Sharjah.
The joint venture is set to organize the import of liquefied natural gas into the Hamriyah port and supply natural gas to the three power stations operated by SEWA, Hatem Al Mosa , SNOC’s CEO and John Roper managing director & head of Middle East for Uniper Global Commodities said in a project report.
Some of the gas will flow directly from the Hamriyah Port receiving jetty into the SEWA Hamriyah power station. Additional gas will flow to SNOC’s Sajaa gas field complex and will supply the other SEWA power stations.
The import project will have a capacity of 3-4 million tons LNG per annum (mmtpa) and a send out capacity range of 500 to 1000 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd).
Uniper, as the owner’s engineer for SNOC, will ensure the commissioning of the project. The company’s scope of work includes the design and construction of the Sharjah LNG import facility, as well as shipping solutions for the project. The company will also be responsible for the sourcing and supply of liquefied natural gas over a 10-year period.
In addition, the LNG import project would provide required volumes to supply a gas storage complex that would satisfy summer peak demand.
SNOC plans to implement the project in phases, with a target start date of the first phase in 2021. Currently, SNOC is conducting a gas storage pilot test using existing infrastructure to optimize the final project design.