Marsa LNG, a joint venture between global industry leader TotalEnergies and Oman’s Group OQ, has achieved a key construction milestone on the $1.6 billion Sohar Port LNG Bunkering Project by successfully installing the roof of a critical LNG storage tank in a highly complex operation.
The region’s first project, the Sohar Port and Free Zone LNG bunkering hub, will have a production capacity of 1 million tonnes per year.
Houston-based CB&I, a global leader in tank and terminal storage solutions and a subsidiary of McDermott, implemented the “air-raising” technology.
This engineering process uses compressed air to carefully lift and place the fully assembled steel roof over the tank wall. In this operation, 631 tons of steel were lifted to a height of approximately 40 meters using precise control.
“This technical achievement represents an important progress for the project,” the joint venture said. “This reflects the careful planning, strong teamwork and excellent health, safety and environmental performance by Marsa LNG and CB&I.”
Regarding its key role, the Omani group said CB&I has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a 165,000 cubic meter fully enclosed concrete LNG storage tank and associated piping. Technip Energies will act as the EPC contractor for the entire bunkering hub.
According to OQ Exploration & Production (OQEP), the overall construction progress rate reached approximately 39% by the end of 2025. A key milestone during the year was the signing of a natural gas sales agreement with the Integrated Gas Company (IGC) to supply 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from Marsa LNG’s gas capital source, Block 10, to the bunkering facility.
OQEP, a major player in the region, holds a 20% direct and indirect interest in Block 10, which is operated by Shell.
“OQEP benefits from two sources of revenue from Block 10: gas sales and LNG sales from the soon-to-be-built Marsa LNG bunkering hub, the first in the region,” the listed upstream energy company, part of OQ Group, said.
The Marsa LNG Bunkering Hub is expected to be commissioned between the second and third quarters of 2028.
