Uchenna Izundu
International Editor
LONDON, July 27 -- Norwegian utility Lyse Energi, Stavanger, and the maritime transportation service company IM Skaugen ASA, Oslo, plan to invest $196.5 million to build a 300,000-tonne/year gas liquefaction plant near Stavanger by 2010.
The project will establish a new company, Nordic LNG, as a developer of small LNG projects.
Linde AG, Wiesbaden, Germany, last week received a contract to design the plant. Construction is expected to commence in the early fall.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC will provide 200 million cu m/year of natural gas for the plant from the Karsto terminal via Lyse's pipeline to the processing plant.
IM Skaugen is building 10 LNG carriers in China. One vessel will carry LNG full time from the new plant beginning in 2010.
The new processing plant will be owned and operated by Skangass, a 50-50 joint venture of Lyse and Stavanger-based financial investors, said the partners in a joint statement. Nordic LNG is a 60-40 joint venture between Skangass and IM Skaugen.
The companies have sold 20% of the plant's capacity and are targeting industrial customers with access to gas pipelines in Norway, Sweden, and northern Europe.
Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].
