Cap Lopez LNG project in Gabon moves closer to completion

Perenco-sister company Dixstone Lower Gulf FZCO is converting the 141,000-cu m LNG carrier Bayelsa into a floating storage unit (FSU) for use at the company’s Gabon liquefaction project. The vessel, temporarily dubbed FSU LNG Cap Lopez, is being converted at Drydocks World Dubai, with Lloyd’s Register providing classification and technical assurance.

Conversion includes extensive steel works (renewals and project-specific additions), new piping systems, installation of a boil-off gas module, and broader life-extension measures. Bayelsa was built in 2003 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea.

Perenco Oil and Gas Gabon SA in 2023 took final investment decision on a 0.7-million tonne/year (tpy) LNG plant at the Cap Lopez oil terminal in Gabon. In addition to LNG, the plant will produce 20,000 tpy of butane.  

Dixstone won the project’s construction, procurement, and integration contract in 2024. The company’s Les Chantiers du Gabon yard in Port-Gentil will meet the project’s local-content requirements, supporting both the onshore works necessary to gather natural gas from Perenco-operated fields in the country and works at Cap Lopez terminal.