$1bn LNG storage facility planned in Dubai
Posted: Monday, August 21, 2006
tradearabia.com
Dubai
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), Techno Park and LNG Impel (Impel) have announced the development of a world-class Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage facility to be located at Techno Park in Dubai. The total cost of developing the storage facility is estimated to be $1 billion.
Envisioned as a massive infrastructure facility with a total storage capacity ranging from 40 – 65 billion cubic feet (bcf), Dubai LNG Storage Hub is the first of its kind in the world and will offer customers the ability to store, trade and plan supplies of LNG.
The hub will also provide other services such as LNG loans and LNG quality blending. Over time, it is expected to offer financial derivatives around LNG and shipping.
DMCC and IMPEL will begin the Open Season bid process for storage capacity at the Dubai LNG Storage Hub with an initial non-binding bid round commencing August 28.
Interested parties may register their interest and request further information about the Dubai LNG Storage Hub and the open season by visiting lngimpel.com
This announcement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between LNG Impel and the DMCC in June, 2006, to jointly pursue this project.
“This project is a signal achievement for DMCC’s objective to make Dubai the energy hub of the Middle East, and is in keeping with our key role as a promoter of commodity trade and its requisite infrastructure,” said Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chief Operating Officer of DMCC.
'We plan to work closely with LNG Impel and Techno Park to ensure that all stakeholders will be able to leverage the facilities offered by Dubai LNG Storage Hub to their best advantage,' he added.
“Techno Park, with its core focus built around Oil & Gas, Energy & Alternate Energy and Water Desalination projects, presents the ideal location of choice for such a venture,” said Salma Hareb, CEO of JAFZA and Economic Zones World where Techno Park is located.
“We are committed to the successful implementation of such innovative projects, which will greatly enhance and strengthen Dubai’s role in regional energy distribution,” she added.
Commenting on the joint venture project, Thom Dawson, President of LNG Impel said: “We are very pleased and excited about the Dubai LNG Storage Hub which will help meet the demands of the industry as LNG transitions into a globally traded commodity.
“It will provide industry participants with choices and options not accessible to them before.”
Tilak K. Doshi, executive director for Energy at DMCC, said: “The launch of this facility would offer greater flexibility to both buyers and sellers and would release them from being tied to strict and inflexible supply schedules over long periods of time.
'The Dubai-based storage facility will enable core LNG suppliers and buyers to capture value by storing and trading across different months, as seasonal price variations are a key attribute of global LNG pricing.
“It will also allow a multiplicity of buyers, sellers and traders to arbitrage across several regions, and support derivatives trading as a spot market emerges around the storage facility,' he added.
LNG Impel Middle East managing director Abdelkader Elrahal said Dubai is “ideally positioned to host this storage facility as it is centrally located between the natural gas rich supply area of the Middle East and the demand driven global markets”.
Dubai also offers a business climate and a host of services that are unparalleled in the Middle East, he said.
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, a strategic government initiative, rated 'A' by Standard & Poor's provides innovative concepts and industry-specific physical and market infrastructure products, that facilitate the growth of the energy (alongside other commodities) business in Dubai.
LNG IMPEL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Galveston LNG.
The company is focused on the development of LNG infrastructure and trading, and is also the parent company of Kitimat LNG. Kitimat LNG is developing Kitimat LNG Terminal, a LNG regasification and receiving facility scheduled for construction on the Pacific northwest coast of Canada that offers Pacific Basin suppliers shorter shipping times to North America and access to the largest natural gas market in the world. LNG Impel is operated from offices in Barbados, London, and Dubai.
Techno Park is the first technology park of its kind in the region and it represents a local economic zone that is bound by UAE laws.
The park was established to ensure maximum utilization and development of the regional resources by high profile companies, to match investor expectations.
It complements the unsurpassed growth that Dubai is witnessing, making it an ideal destination for all kinds of businesses.
The main industries that the Park caters to include Desalination and Water, Hi-Tech, Oil & Gas, and Research & Development. TradeArabia News Service |
