EmiratesLNG Import Terminal Tender Result Due By Early 2015

The result of a tender to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility at the busy oil port of Fujairah will be announced in late 2014 or early 2015, the United Arab Emirates energy minister said on Sunday.

In an interview with state news agency WAM, Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui said the project would have a capacity of nine million tonnes a year.

EmiratesLNG, a joint venture between state-controlled International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) and Mubadala Petroleum, won approval for the venture in November 2013.

The company has said the new terminal will be able to accommodate the largest LNG tankers, with most of the gas destined for the UAE’S power sector. Front-end engineering design (FEED) has been done by France’s Technip.

Dubai already imports LNG through ports in the Gulf, and the UAE gets a modest volume of Qatari gas by pipeline, which helps feed power and desalination plants at Fujairah.

Building an LNG import terminal outside the Strait of Hormuz reduces the risk that the UAE’s supplies could be affected by problems in the vital oil and gas shipping lane, which neighbouring Iran threatened to block two years ago.