The Middle East is set to have its first LNG bunkering facility to be located at the Port of Sohar in Oman. The groundbreaking for the Marsa LNG plant, a $1.6 billion investment by TotalEnergies and OQ Exploration and Production (OQEP), took place a year after the companies reached their final investment decision.
Five years after it was conceived, construction of the plant that is designed to position Oman as an LNG hub serving the entire Gulf region has begun. The plant is being implemented by Marsa LNG, a joint venture between TotalEnergies that controls an 80 percent stake and OQEP with a 20 percent shareholding.
Located at Sohar Port and Freezone, one of the fastest-growing ports in the world and a major global shipping corridor, the 1 million tonnes per year (Mt/y) liquefaction plant will offer LNG bunkering to vessels operating across the Middle East. The plant, which is expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2028, is being implemented while Sohar is recording growth in the number of vessels calling at the port, with over 3,000 calls in 2024.
Marsa has already signed a charter contract for a new bunkering vessel christened Monte Shams that is under construction and which will be stationed in Sohar from 2028. It will be able to supply LNG to a wide range of vessels including containerships, tankers, and cruise ships, among others. The vessel, which will have a capacity of 18,600 cbm.
The Marsa LNG project will be powered by upstream gas production of 150 million cubic feet per day sourced from the Mabrouk North-East field in onshore Block 10. Marsa holds a 33.19 percent interest in the field, securing a reliable feedstock supply for the LNG plant.
The plant is being touted as one of the lowest carbon-intensity LNG facilities in the world. It will be fully electrified and combined with a 300 MW solar farm that will supply its annual energy needs.
“With an ambitious technical design, we intend to set the standard and pave the way for the next generation of low-emissions LNG plants across the world,” said Patrick Pouyanné, TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO. “We also offer an effective way to support the shipping sector’s energy transition, by providing lower-emissions marine fuel in a key location at the entrance of the Gulf.”
The Marsa facility is part of TotalEnergies’ ambitions to support LNG in the shipping energy transition. The company has actively invested in LNG bunkering infrastructure to support its shipping customers’ adoption of LNG and currently deploys three bunker vessels, the Gas Agility at the Port of Rotterdam, the Gas Vitality at the Port of Marseille-Fos, and the Brassavola at the Port of Singapore.