Marsa LNG Bunkering Project, Oman

The Marsa LNG Bunkering Project is a 100% electricity-driven integrated Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunkering hub being developed in Sohar, Oman.

The project is being developed by the MARSA LNG Joint Venture, which is owned by TotalEnergies (80%) and Oman National Oil Company (OQ) (20%).

With a production capacity of one million tonnes of LNG per year (mtpa), the project will provide LNG fuelling service to marine vessels through a marine terminal.

The Final Investment Decision (FID) of the project was made by the partners in April 2024. Construction is slated to commence in the third quarter of 2024.

The commissioning will start by the first quarter of 2026 with LNG production expected to start by the first quarter of 2028.

Marsa LNG Location

The Marsa LNG Bunkering Project will be located in the Sohar Industrial Port, approximately 220km northwest of Muscat, the capital of Oman.

The Sohar Industrial Port, located on a major shipping route between Asia and Europe, handles cargo in and out of the Arabian Gulf.

The project site is situated in a port expansion area leased and reclaimed by Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC). The reclaimed land is located between Majis Industrial Services Company (MISC) Seawater Intake (SWI) and the existing harbour breakwater.

Marsa LNG Key Infrastructure

Marsa LNG Bunkering Project key infrastructure will consist of an LNG plant, a condensate export pipeline, an electrical transmission line, a topside of the LNG export jetty, along with accommodation camps and other facilities.

The LNG plant will be designed as a zero-flaring plant consisting of inlet facilities, a mercury removal unit, an Acid Gas Removal Unit (AGRU), a dehydration unit, and a heavy hydrocarbon removal unit.

It would also include a liquefaction unit, a nitrogen rejection unit, an end flash gas unit, an LNG storage and unloading unit, a boil-off gas unit, an AGRU incinerator, and a flare system.

The condensate export pipeline will connect the LNG plant and the former Oil Taking Terminal (OTT) site (now ADVARIO).

At ADVARIO, condensates (a by-product of the LNG Plant production) will be stored for use in the future by an industry located within the Sohar Port.

An approximately 3.5km long underground electrical cable will be used to connect the LNG substation and the existing substation located within the Sohar Port and operated by Oman Electricity Transmission Company (OETC).

The topside elements of the LNG export jetty will be developed as part of the project. The elements include a pipe rack, process manifolds, LNG loading platforms, a jetty control station, berthing, and mooring platforms.

The subsea foundation of the jetty and access road will be designed and developed by SIPC.

Associated Facilities

Key associated facilities will include a 2.5km long OQGN feed gas pipeline to feed the LNG plant with natural gas. The pipeline, serving as an extension of the existing OQGN network, will stretch up to a receiver station near the LNG plant.

A solar plant is planned to be developed to supply renewable power to the LNG plant. The solar plant will be connected to the grid network, from where the plant will receive power during operation. Power at night will be supplied by the solar plant through the OETC grid via the same connection.

Operations

The LNG plant of the Marsa LNG Bunkering Project will receive natural gas from onshore upstream Block 10 operated by Shell Development Oman (53.4%) and MARSA LNG (33.2%) and OQ in a joint venture.

MARSA LNG has the right to take 150mmcf/d of gas from the domestic network and supply it to the LNG plant.

The fluids from Block 10 will be combined with other streams from different blocks and processed at the Saih Rawl Central Processing Plant.

The processed gas would enter the national gas pipeline network and the condensates would be transported to the Muscat Terminal through the Oman Main Oil Line (MOL).

Before treatment at the LNG plant, the gas will be pre-treated upstream. After pre-treatment, the gas will be delivered by the OQGN’s existing pipeline network to the to the LNG plant’s inlet.

The inlet of the LNG plant will receive gas at an average of 150 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) and a nominal rate of 158mmscfd as per the availability of the LNG plant.

The inlet facility, equipped with a series of filters, would remove black powder from the feed gas. A let-down unit would be used to reduce the gas pressure and temperature. Subsequently, the filtered feed gas will flow through a mercury removal unit, while carbon dioxide will be removed by an Acid Gas Removal Unit (AGRU) through an absorption process.

Water will be separated using a dehydration unit with regenerative molecular sieve beads.

The plant will produce LNG and condensate as a by-product. The condensate will be exported through the Condensate Export Pipeline.

The LNG will be transported to the onshore storage tank before being exported via LNG carriers or bunkering vessels.

Project Schedule

Phase I of Marsa LNG project will involve construction, pre-commissioning and commissioning works. Construction of the LNG plant, including pre-commissioning and commissioning phases, will take around 34 months.

Main construction activities are expected to conclude with the start-up of the plant in mid-2027. Around 1,800 workers are expected to be involved during peak construction activity.

The plant will have a 25-year design life, following which the facilities will be reviewed for extension or decommissioning.

Key Contractors

TotalEnergies and OQ awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Technip Energies for the Marsa LNG Bunkering Project in April 2024.

The contract, valued between €500m and €1bn of revenue for Technip, involves the EPC of the natural gas liquefaction train.

CB&I, a wholly owned subsidiary of McDermott, won a contract valuing between $100m and $250m, to deliver a 165,000m³ full containment concrete LNG storage tank for the project.

The 2024 Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report of the project is prepared by ERM and Five Oceans Environmental Services.

Gas Sales Agreement

A Gas Sales Agreement was signed between the partners of the Marsa LNG Bunkering Project and the Government of the Sultanate of Oman in December 2021.

According to the agreement, the joint venture will sell natural gas from Block 10 to the Oman Government for 18 years or till the project commences operations.