(Business in Cameroon) - The project for the construction of a natural gas liquefaction unit on the coast of the seaside city of Kribi, in the South Cameroon region, is suspended due to poor market conditions, announced Engie (formerly known as GDF Suez).

“As can be noticed worldwide, market conditions are not favourable to the development of major LNG (liquefied natural gas, Ed.) projects at the moment. As such, the project was put on hold before the next development phase (Engineering Procurement Construction)”, the spokesperson for the company declared.

This project presented as a first in Africa, consists in “converting the methane tanker Golar Hilli from the company Golar Hilli Corporation, into a liquefaction plant. The conversion of the methane tanker is currently underway on the Keppel naval worksite, in Singapore”, the project partners which are Engie, SNH, Perenco and Golar, explained in September.

This vessel with a capacity of 1.2 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year, should deliver its first export productions from mid-2017. Which is now unfeasible, based on the decision Engie just announced.

Brice R. Mbodiam