Muscat – French energy giant TotalEnergies and OQ, Oman’s global integrated energy company, announced on Monday the Final Investment Decision (FID) for their ambitious Marsa LNG project. The project will be jointly established by the two companies at Sohar Port with an estimated cost of $1.6bn.

During a visit to Muscat on Sunday, Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, met with His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik and Eng Salim bin Nasser al Aufi, Minister of Energy and Minerals, to reaffirm the long-term partnership between TotalEnergies and Oman, according to a press statement issued by TotalEnergies.

On this occasion, Pouyanné and Mulham Basheer al Jarf, Chairman of OQ, announced the Final Investment Decision of the Marsa LNG project.

Moreover, TotalEnergies (holding a 49% stake) and OQ Alternative Energy (holding a 51% stake) have confirmed that they are at an advanced stage of discussions to jointly develop a portfolio of up to 800MW, including the 300MWp solar project that will supply the Marsa LNG project.

Integrated LNG project

Through their joint company, Marsa Liquefied Natural Gas, TotalEnergies and OQ have launched the integrated Marsa LNG project.

The Marsa LNG project, 80% owned by TotalEnergies and 20% owned by OQ, combines upstream gas production, downstream gas liquefaction, and renewable power generation.

According to TotalEnergies’ press statement, 150mn cubic feet per day of natural gas, coming from the 33.19% interest held by Marsa in the Mabrouk North-East field on onshore Block 10, will provide the required feedstock for the LNG plant.

As part of the Marsa LNG project, a 1mn metric tonne per year capacity LNG liquefaction plant will be built at the Port of Sohar. The LNG production is expected to start by the first quarter of 2028 and is primarily intended to serve the marine fuel market (LNG bunkering) in the Gulf. LNG quantities not sold as bunker fuel will be offloaded by TotalEnergies (80%) and OQ (20%).

Additionally, a dedicated 300MWp solar plant will be built to cover 100% of the annual power consumption of the Marsa LNG plant, allowing a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The Marsa LNG plant will be 100% electrically driven and supplied with solar power, positioning the site as one of the lowest greenhouse gas emissions intensity LNG plants ever built worldwide.

The main engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts have been awarded to Technip Energies for the LNG plant and to CB&I for the 165,000 m3 LNG tank.

First LNG bunkering hub in Middle East

The ambition of the Marsa LNG project is to serve as the first LNG bunkering hub in the Middle East, showcasing an available and competitive alternative marine fuel to reduce the shipping industry’s emissions.

Compared to conventional marine fuel, LNG helps to cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 23%, nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 85%, sulfur emissions by 99%, and fine particle emissions by 99%.

“We are proud to open a new chapter in our history in Oman with the launch of the Marsa LNG project, together with our partner OQ, demonstrating our long-term commitment to the country. We are especially pleased to deploy the two pillars of our transition strategy, LNG and renewables, and thus support the sultanate on a new scale in the sustainable development of its energy resources,” Pouyanné said.

“This very innovative project illustrates our pioneer spirit and showcases the relevance of our integrated multi-energy strategy, with the ambition of being a responsible player in the energy transition. By paving the way for the next generation of very low-emission LNG plants, Marsa LNG is contributing to making gas a long-term transition energy.”

TotalEnergies is the world’s third-largest LNG player with a global portfolio of 44mn tonnes per year in 2023, thanks to its interests in liquefaction plants in all geographies.