Our projects

Yemen LNG
Building Yemens first LNG plant

Establishing Yemen LNG as an international

Liquefied Natural Gas supplier
The monetisation of Yemens natural
resources has been the countrys
focus since the 1990s.

Saudi
Arabia

Yemen

In August 2005, the Yemen LNG project was launched. It is the

single largest investment project in the industrial history of
Yemen, for a total value of almost 4.5 billion dollars.

Yemen LNG
ian
Arab

The project involved:

S ea

A 320-km long pipeline from the Marib gas field, in Central

Yemen, to the coast.
A 2-train liquefied natural gas plant in Balhaf, on the Gulf of Aden, 200 km South-West from
Al-Mukalla.

A challenge for the Technip-led

joint venture

Client: Yemen LNG Company Ltd (YLNG) with

partners: Total (Project Leader with 39.62%), Hunt Oil
(17.22%), Yemen Gas Company (16.73%), SK Corporation
(9.55%), Korea Gas Corporation (6%), Hyundai
Corporation (5.88%) and Yemens General Authority for
Social Security & Pensions (5%)
LNG plant Contractor: Yemgas, a Technip-led joint
venture equally shared between Technip / JGC / KBR
Lump sum turnkey contract awarded in September
2005
Global LNG production capacity of 6.7 Mtpa
Steady production since November 2009 (train 1) and
March 2010 (train 2)

In September 2005, Yemgas,

the Technip-led Joint Venture
equally shared between
Technip, JGC and KBR was
awarded the engineering,
procurement and
construction contract for the
2-train LNG plant including
utilities and offsites.
Train 1 has been in operation since October 2009
with the first LNG carrier loaded early November,
whereas Train 2 came on stream in March 2010.
The Balhaf site, on the Southern coast of Yemen,
was chosen for the LNG facility because it offers
a natural harbour, protected from the monsoon's
wind gusts and sea swells.
It is also a strategic location at the crossroads of
international maritime routes. The output from
the plants requires the movement of 100 LNG
carriers per year, to deliver the LNG to Asian,
European and American markets.

Yemgas project scope

Underpinning this achievement meant
meeting a fantastic challenge made possible
by the commitment of the Technip-led
joint venture over several years.

It all started in the 1990s when Technip and its partners carried out the FEED studies for the project. In September 2005,
Yemgas signed the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract with Yemen LNG Company Ltd for the LNG
plant:
Engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up of 2 liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 6.7
million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year.
Air Products C3/MR process, with the refrigerant compressors in Split MR configuration to maximise production from
the two GE Frame 7 gas turbine drivers.
2 full containment storage tanks of 140,000 m3 each.
An 800-m long jetty.
Overall construction supervision of the entire facilities / utilities.
Large-scale infrastructure requirements.

This project confirms Technip among

the first tier of EPC contractors in LNG
In 2009 and 2010, through the delivery of projects
including Yemen, Technip will have delivered 57 million
tonnes per year of LNG capacity to its clients, including
the worlds largest LNG trains in Qatar.
Technip will have been involved in
adding around one third to the
worlds LNG production capacity.
Supported by outstanding Project
Management skills and a strong
organisation, Technip is capable of
managing several of these gigantic
grassroots projects simultaneously,
even in remote locations where
infrastructure is not completely
adapted and most of the material
needs for the project have to be
brought in.

The Yemen LNG contract is one

example of Technips leading
position among the first tier of EPC
contractors in LNG:
FEED studies
LNG train detailed engineering
Utilities / Facilities construction
supervision
Joint Venture leadership

140 out of the 208 Technip staff Balhaf April 2009

The team

In March 2008, at the peak of construction, some 9,200 people from

72 nationalities were working on the construction of the liquefaction plant.
The Yemgas management team was just over 200 strong from 35 nationalities.

Outstanding Security

HSE performance
The project recorded
periods of up to 15 million
hours without Lost Time
Injury (LTI).
A massive HSE training programme
was central to achieving this result.
The site HSE Departments mission
was to work on the process of
improving peoples behaviour as
the main way to improve overall
project HSE statistics. Various
training modules were provided
both in English and Arabic to
maintain constant safety
awareness:
Site HSE induction
Defensive driving
Confined space entry
Working at heights
Commissioning & start-up
safety

The know-how developed by the Technip Security

division over recent years on other projects allowed
a site-specific programme to be successfully
deployed at Balhaf with several innovative measures.
The quality of the programme has since been
recognised by many external parties.
Security of Personnel consisting of a Meet & Greet procedure, a
Travellers booklet, accommodation audits and inspections, Security and
Cultural induction programs on site.
Physical security measures (original concepts developed by Technip)
Security Operations Room aiming at centralising all Security-related
communications.
Quick Response Team (QRT) consisting of a permanent Security Patrol
inside the site.
Main Gate, a pivotal access point in a project site where all personnel,
equipment, materials and goods transit.
Security toolbox
Balhafs Security Master Plan detailing the responsibilities of each
stakeholder. Established prior to opening the construction site.
Appointment of permanent Subcontractor Security correspondents
within the camps/worksites.
Security Instruction book for operational support.
Cultural and religious inductions within the Awareness Program.

Yemen LNG

The projects main challenges

To make the Yemen LNG project the success that is,
Technip had to overcome several challenges over the 4 years
between contract award and start up:
Construction market tightness in 2005. At the time of the project launch, several other LNG projects were underway
worldwide, reducing the availability of skilled labour, construction materials and equipment and making it more
difficult to predict costs and schedule.
Technology-intensive and large-size plant in a remote location. Each train is using the Air Products C3/MR process.
Large-scale infrastructure which required building:
a harbour to receive industrial equipment from 60 shipments
an airport for employee transfer
a city to accommodate 10,000 people during construction phase and 700 permanent staff during operations
Security: building such a high-technology industrial project in a location like Balhaf represented a challenge due to the
remoteness of the site, its shorefront on the Gulf of Aden and the duration of the construction phase (4 years).
Ensuring the security of personnel (whether Client, staff, contractors, visitors or Government bodies) and of the
facilities (plants, harbour and vessels, airport, and equipment) was at the forefront of Technips concerns.

Major success factors

Careful planning with a good quality FEED and early realisation of the scale of the challenges.
The selection of proven technologies, equipment and partners from the global LNG supply chain.
First rate project management and allocation of appropriate resources in conventional and less conventional project
management domains.
Pre-negotiated contracts for site preparation and certain critical equipment items that were assigned to Yemgas at EPC
contract award.
A spirit of co-operation: enthusiasm, dedication and hard work of a diverse multicultural workforce.
The support of Yemeni authorities and local population.

HEADQUARTERS
Technip
89 avenue de la Grande Arme
75773 Paris Cedex 16
France
Phone: +33 (0)1 47 78 24 00
LNG / GTL Product Line
Phil Hagyard, SVP
Phone: +33 (0)1 47 78 27 17
Email: phagyard@technip.com

www.technip.com

Sustainable Development actions

Purchases in Yemen
Most of the plant technical items (pressure vessels, machinery, columns etc.) were
imported due to local unavailability. However, Technip through its Yemgas joint
venture implemented at very early project stages a procurement policy to favour
local supply of goods and services available in Yemen such as: office stationery
and furniture, computers and printers, site consumables, office cabins, air
conditioning units, vehicles, safety equipments, telecommunications etc.

Local subcontractors
One of the Yemgas objectives was to ensure that the local business community
took part to the realisation of the project. In this way, several million dollars were
allocated to local companies who had the opportunity to discover and develop
modern industrial techniques and management.
Camp landscaping and irrigation system for both Client and Contractor camps.
Water management: the Balhaf site produces its own water (except drinking
water).
Waste recycling: Yemgas contracted a local company for site domestic and
vehicle wastes.
Waste donations such as timber, steel and cables.

Recruitment of Yemenis
Providing employment to local communities has been a main objective and
achievement. Over the life of the project, it is estimated that almost 13,000
Yemenis have come and obtained a position within the team: office and field
positions requiring technical and English language skills, engineers, industrial
relationships, labour, supervisory positions in civil and piping works etc.

Knowledge transfer
In order to share the experience of industrial projects among the Yemenis present
on site and give them marketable skills, Technip through its Yemgas joint venture
organised a wide training campaign in different fields: HSE, quality management,
English, camps and catering etc.

This document is the property of Technip and is not intended to be a binding contractual document.
Any information contained herein shall not result in any binding obligation on the part of Technip, or
any of its affiliates, and is provided for information purposes only.
Technip - Group Communications - March 2011 - Photo credits: Technip