29 April 2017, Baku — An international consortium led by France’s Total SA plans to start construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Cote d’Ivoire by mid-2017, an official from Azeri SOCAR Trading, the consortium’s member, said on Wednesday.
The project cost is estimated at 120 million-130 million euros ($130.6 million-$141.5 million), Togrul Kocharli, SOCAR Trading’s chief project officer, said.
The terminal’s starting annual capacity is estimated at 36 million British thermal units (mBtu) with a possibility to increase it to 100 mBtu, he said, adding that Cote d’Ivoire would be a natural gas regional hub for neighbouring countries.
Kocharli said that first natural gas supplies to the terminal were planned from mid-2018.
Azeri state energy firm SOCAR acquired a 26 percent stake in Ivory Coast LNG, an international consortium with Total, Shell, Golar, Endeavor Energy and Cote d’Ivoire state companies Petroci and CI Energies in November 2016. ($1 = 0.9185 euro)
*Nailia Bagirova; Margarita Antidze; editing: Susan Thomas – Reuters
