Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Mar. 23 -- Oman has signed an agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Mizuho United Bank for $240 million to finance its interests in two 145,000 cu m LNG carriers.
The LNG carrier Nizwa will enter service in December, according to Ahmed bin Abdul-Nabi Macki, Oman's National Economy Minister, who signed the agreement.
Macki, also deputy chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council and chairman of Oman Maritime Transport Co., said OMTC owns 60% of the Nizwa, while Itochu Co. and Mitsui OSK own a combined 40%. The LNG carrier Ibri will enter service by mid-2006, Macki said.
OMTC has plans for six LNG carriers, two of which—the Muscat and the Sohar—have already entered service.
Oman is adding a third train, with capacity of 3.7 million tonnes/year, to its liquefaction plant at Sur, bringing total capacity of the facility to 10.3 million tonnes/year (OGJ, June 30, 2003, p. 68).
