Yemen LNG Launches Construction of a New LPG Storage in Mareb

On February 1st, Yemen LNG signed a construction contract with Tanmia Oil and Construction Limited for the construction of a new LPG storage in Mareb.

The new storage will be operated by Yemen Gas Company (YGC) and Safer. It is located nearby the new CPU2 cryogenic unit being built by Yemen LNG on block 18 with the participation of Safer and the Hawk-Berksan joint venture.

The new facilities will increase Yemen’s LPG production capacity by 12,000 barrels per day from summer 2011. While responding to the increasing demand of LPG on the Yemeni market, the project will generate an added value of around US$170 million per year for YGC, the state owned company which commercializes the LPG.

Yemen LNG is the investor and the technical leader of the project.

General Manager Francois Rafin commented: “This project exemplifies the co-operation between Yemen LNG, Safer, YGC and the Yemeni contractors such as Tanmia and Hawk to increase the delivery of domestic energy to the domestic market. “

Yemen consumed 24,600 bbls of condensate per day in 2010. The block 18 supplied 22,000 barrels per day and the Aden refinery supplied 2,600 barrels per day and seasonal imports amounted to some 250,000 barrels each year.

LPG comprises propane and butane which are extracted from the wellhead gas produced on block 18 in three existing cryogenic units KPU1, KPU2 and CPU1. The LPG is delivered to YGC for marketing and the lean gas is delivered to Yemen LNG as feed gas to the Balhaf LNG plant. LNG mainly comprises methane and ethane and is made only from lean feed gas from which LPG has already been extracted to supply the Yemeni domestic market.

The Yemen LNG project also delivers 100 million cubic feet per day of domestic gas to the Public Electricity Company (PEC) for power generation.

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Source: Yemen LNG, February 7, 2011;