01 July 2008
Sunday, 29 June 2008, Yemen LNG inaugurated the new Visitor Centre and Training Centre at its LNG plant in Balhaf, Shabwah, under the auspices of H.E. Mr. Amer Al-Aidarous, Minister of Oil and Minerals in the presence of H.E. Dr. Ali Al-Ahmadi, Governor of Shabwah. This event marks another important step towards full preparedness of the Balhaf liquefaction plant to build its Yemeni technical competencies.


Being the first stop for guests at Balhaf, the event started by inaugurating the Visitors’ Centre where general information and safety induction were given to all participants. The Visitors’ Centre will also serve as an information hub for provision of general information to neighboring communities and a place where these communities can get explanation and/or report grievances that might arise as a result of the activities of Yemen LNG without having to enter the site.


Participants at the inauguration ceremony, which included a number of senior representatives from central, governorate and local Governments, were briefed on the status of work on construction of the various components of the project, namely the liquefaction plant, the pipeline and the upstream facilities’ modifications.


From his part, Mr. Al-Aidarous expressed his “happiness to visit the Yemen LNG plant for the first time and to get a first-hand experience and knowledge of the intensity of work on such a big investment project in Yemen”. “I am impressed at the size of the project which should reflect positively on development and economy in Yemen,” he added. According to him, “all involved parties must work to ensure that the Project is launched on schedule for the benefit of the entire country”.


From his side, Dr. Al-Ahmadi confirmed that “we are partners in ensuring the success of this project and will continue to be as such for the next 25 years of operation. We will work hand in hand with Yemen LNG and the Ministry of Oil to ensure the success of the project”.


“The purpose of the Training Centre is to continue the long term training and professional development of Yemen LNG technical workforce over the next 20-25 years of commercial production at the plant here in Balhaf,” the General Manager of Yemen LNG Mr. Joël Fort stated in his welcome remarks. “The Centre will accommodate all the training needs of the plant. It is built on an area of 550 m2 and it contains: five classrooms which can accommodate up to 18 students each at a time; a computer lab; a library with full Internet access; a Training Simulator room with a software application that simplifies the actual operating programmes which will in use in operating the plant; in addition to two conference rooms and staff offices”, said Fort.


The Training Centre will provide technical training courses on process, mechanical and electrical disciplines or instrumentation; Supervisory Training, and Health, Safety and Environment training. As early as 2010, the training of new intakes of technicians will be carried out completely in Balhaf with groups of around 15 trainees each year. By that date, the Training Centre in Sana’a, which was opened in April 2006, will continue to deliver only non-technical training for Yemen LNG personnel.


After the inauguration of the two Centres, visitors’ toured the construction site during which they got first-hand information about all components of the Balhaf liquefaction plant. “This is a place out of the ordinary”, said another senior local government participant during the site tour.