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$1.6 Billion Marsa LNG Project Gains Construction Momentum as Sohar Infrastructure Takes Shape

Home » Energy » LNG » $1.6 Billion Marsa LNG Project Gains Construction Momentum as Sohar Infrastructure Takes Shape

Marsa LNG Project is progressing through construction at Sohar Port and Freezone as contractors advance the LNG plant, storage facilities and marine infrastructure. The $1.6 billion development will establish an integrated LNG production and bunkering facility for Oman’s growing maritime fuel market. TotalEnergies and OQ Exploration & Production are developing the project through Marsa LNG LLC.

The development has moved beyond the contractor appointment stage covered in Construction Review Online’s earlier report. Technip Energies secured the main LNG plant EPC contract in 2024, while CB&I and other contractors later took responsibility for specialized project packages. The project now involves simultaneous construction activities across the plant and port infrastructure.

Several important milestones have emerged during 2026. CB&I has installed the roof of the 165,000-cubic-metre LNG storage tank, while Boskalis has completed the project’s dredging works. Meanwhile, Technip Energies continues EPC activities and Six Construct is progressing marine infrastructure works.

Marsa LNG Project establishes major LNG production and bunkering facilities

The Marsa LNG Project will feature a single liquefaction train with annual production capacity of approximately one million tones. Technip Energies is responsible for engineering, procurement and construction of the LNG plant.

The facility will use electric-driven equipment instead of conventional gas turbines. A dedicated 300MW solar photovoltaic facility will provide renewable electricity for the LNG plant.

The development will also include a 165,000-cubic-metre LNG storage tank. CB&I is delivering the storage tank under a separate engineering, procurement and construction contract.

Marine infrastructure forms another major component of the development. Six Construct is responsible for the LNG jetty, shore protection and associated drainage infrastructure.

The project will support LNG bunkering operations for vessels operating across the Gulf. An 18,600-cubic-metre LNG bunkering vessel will also support future marine fuel distribution from Sohar.

Meanwhile, WSP International Oman Branch provides project management, design review, site supervision and contract management services. Its involvement covers the wider delivery period through 2028.

The integrated configuration will connect LNG production, storage, renewable electricity and marine fuel infrastructure at one industrial location. Therefore, the development will serve both Oman’s energy sector and its emerging maritime fuel market.

The Marsa LNG Project also reflects broader investment in Gulf gas infrastructure. Similarly, Saudi Arabia is advancing the $1.24bn Uthmaniyah Gas Compression Plant, where the Saipem-NSH joint consortium has started EPC construction. The Uthmaniyah development will strengthen gas compression capacity and support continued production from the non-associated gas field.

Marsa LNG Project reaches key construction milestones in 2026

The project’s individual construction packages have recorded significant progress during 2026. However, the overall Marsa LNG Project remains under construction.

CB&I installed the LNG storage tank roof in February 2026. Workers used an air-raising technique to position the 631-tonne steel roof on the tank structure.

The completed roof installation marks progress on the project’s storage package. However, additional tank construction and associated systems must progress before the facility can enter operation.

Boskalis also completed dredging works for the project’s marine infrastructure in April 2026. The contractor prepared the approach channel and berth pocket required for LNG vessel operations.

The dredging program involved approximately four million cubic meters of material. Boskalis used trailing suction hopper dredgers during the marine works.

With dredging complete, subsequent marine construction can focus on the LNG jetty and shore protection. Six Construct is responsible for delivering those facilities.

At the LNG plant, Technip Energies continues EPC execution. The company reported two million site workhours without a lost-time incident during its first-quarter 2026 update.

These developments indicate progress across separate construction packages. Nevertheless, the project still requires completion, commissioning and testing before LNG production can begin.

The current construction programme therefore remains focused on delivering the individual facilities required for integrated operations. These works include liquefaction, storage, marine access and bunkering infrastructure.

Marsa LNG Project

Marsa LNG Project targets first LNG production in 2028

The Marsa LNG Project remains under construction at Sohar Port and Freezone as of 2026. Developers continue targeting first LNG production during the first quarter of 2028.

Once operational, the facility will produce approximately one million tonnes of LNG annually. Most of this output will support marine fuel and bunkering requirements in the Gulf.

The project will receive natural gas from Oman’s upstream resources. The integrated configuration will then process, liquefy, store and supply LNG to marine customers.

The development also targets a greenhouse gas intensity below 3kg of CO2 equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent. TotalEnergies says this represents more than 90% lower intensity than the referenced LNG industry average.

The 300MW solar facility will support the project’s electricity requirements. Consequently, the development combines LNG infrastructure with renewable power generation.

The latest developments provide a more current picture of the project. Storage tank construction, marine dredging and LNG plant EPC activities are now progressing toward the planned 2028 production date.

Cost of the Project Awarded for Marsa LNG Terminal Contractor

The project shall cost a total of $1 billion. TotalEnergies is one leading joint venture named Marsa LNG, which is the main developer of the Sohar LNG terminal project. Marsa LNG was founded and formed in the year 2021 through an agreement that was reached between TotalEnergies and the state energy holding company of the sultanate OQ, with the involved partners owning 80% and 20% stakes respectively.

Marsa LNG is going to develop one integrated facility that will consist of upstream units that will be drawing natural gas feed-stock from the hydrocarbon concessions of TotalEnegies in the sultanate; specifically from the Block 10 and Block 11. There will also be the establishment of an LNG bunkering unit and storage unit that will be located in the port of Sohar. Lastly, a solar photovoltaic (PV) plant will be set up so in order to power the LNG terminal.

Capacity of the Marsa LNG Terminal

The Marsa LNG terminal is also going to have one train that will possess the capacity of processing approximately 1 million tons of natural gas into liquefied natural gas annually. This bunkering terminal is expected to mainly supply to vessels LNG as marine fuel.

In the month of June last year, TotalEnergies had requested the contractors who would be taking part in the feed-to-EPC competition of the Marsa LNG terminal project to make submissions of their revised proposals for the front-end engineering works and design in regards to the number of changes that were made on the scope of the scheme. These three contractors managed to submit their proposals as part of the feed-to-EPC competition of the terminal of the project:

These bidders have been compensated by TotalEnergies for the submission of their feeds. The validity of the fresh proposals that were submitted by the contractors is until the end of the month of February.

What is a Feed-to-EPC

A feed-to EPC contest model involves a situation whereby the shortlisted contractors of a project make thorough preparations for it. The one who owns the project will then conduct thorough evaluation of the submitted feeds and eventually award the contract to the contractor with the most efficient and competitive feed proposal to conduct the EPC works of the project at hand.

The EPC contest of the Marsa LNG project was kicked off in May 2019. The operator of the project had been on course to reach the FID on the terminal project by the time 2022 ended.

The size and scope of the terminal project was changed in the year 2023 by TotalEnergies. Regarding the modifications on the scope of work, the contractors also initiated the updates of their respective feed proposals for the Marsa LNG Project. According to the revised timeline of the project, the engineering, procurement, and construction works of the project are set to begin in the first quarter of 2024.

Scope of the Project

The scope of the work on the Marsa LNG project is broadly categorized into 4 sections:

  • The process structures which entail the gas inlet station unit, liquefaction unit, and the refrigerant storage unit i.e. if applicable
  • The utilities which comprises of importing power from the national grid, a fuel gas system, installation of an air cooling system , a steam system, both the instrument and plant air systems, the nitrogen recovery unit and, a fire water system
  • The installation of the offsite and common facilities which include the flare vent, both relief and blowdown, the storage and loading unit of the LNG, the rundown line of the LNG, LNG bunkering amenities, and the boil-off gas handling
  • Establishment of the support buildings which will include the main control building, administration block, an LNG laboratory, warehouse, a number of workshops etc.

The main changes on the Marsa LNG project include shifting of the location of the site to at least 1 kilometer nearer the Port of Sohar Facility in order to enable easier and seamless of both refueling and exporting activities that will be taking place. Another change was the introduction of the idea of constructing a solar photovoltaic farm that would produce clean energy to solely power the LNG terminal.

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Project fact sheet

Project: Marsa LNG Project

Location: Sohar Port and Freezone, Oman

Project value: Approximately US$1.6 billion

Project type: LNG production, storage and marine bunkering infrastructure

Developer: Marsa LNG LLC

Ownership: TotalEnergies 80%; OQ Exploration & Production 20%

Status (2026): Construction underway

LNG production capacity: Approximately 1 million tonnes per year

LNG storage capacity: 165,000 cubic metres

Liquefaction configuration: One LNG train

Solar power capacity: 300MW

LNG plant EPC contractor: Technip Energies

Storage tank contractor: CB&I

Marine dredging contractor: Boskalis

Jetty contractor: Six Construct

Project management consultant: WSP International Oman Branch

Planned bunkering vessel: 18,600-cubic-metre capacity

Power configuration: Electric-driven LNG plant

Renewable energy: Dedicated 300MW solar photovoltaic facility

Primary market: LNG marine fuel and bunkering

Expected first LNG production: First quarter of 2028

Strategic objective: Establish an LNG bunkering hub at Sohar Port

Environmental objective: Achieve LNG production intensity below 3kg CO2e/boe

Project team

Project company: Marsa LNG LLC

LNG plant EPC contractor: Technip Energies

Storage contractor: CB&I

Marine contractor: Six Construct LLC Oman Branch

Project management consultant: WSP International Oman Branch

Port stakeholder: Sohar Port and Freezone

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