UAE group signs land lease for LNG import terminal
By ASA FITCH
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones) -- EmiratesLNG, a joint venture building a natural gas import terminal in the United Arab Emirates, has signed a lease for 260,000 square meters of land in Fujairah where it plans to build the terminal and a regasification facility, it said Sunday.
Construction of the liquefied natural gas complex is expected to begin later this year. The local government of Fujairah, one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, is also to reclaim land from the sea for the regasification facility, which will be capable of handling the largest LNG tankers, the company said in an emailed statement.
When finished, the terminal will help the UAE fill rising domestic energy needs, the company said. It is expected to have the capacity to import 9 million tpy of LNG "to help fuel the growing energy demands of the UAE economy," said Ahmed Al Mazrouei, the CEO of EmiratesLNG.
EmiratesLNG was formed last year to carry out the project. It is a 50-50 venture between Mubadala Petroleum and the International Petroleum Investment Company, or IPIC. Mubadala Petroleum is part of Mubadala Development Co., an Abu Dhabi government-owned strategic investment vehicle. IPIC is also government-owned and invests in energy firms around the world.
While the UAE is a major producer and exporter of oil and gas, it already imports substantial gas supplies from Qatar to feed growing industrial and consumer electricity demand.
The country is also mindful of energy security and diversifying import channels given its geographical position in the Arab Gulf. The Fujairah location fronts the Gulf of Oman, outside the critical chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz.
Dow Jones Newswires
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