Balhaf Plant News

Following Yemen's lifted force majeure on liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries from its Balhaf plant, the facility stopped operations on Sunday, and evacuated foreign experts from the facility, Reuters informed. Yemeni government announced force majeure on the Balhaf terminal, operated by France's Total, following the collapse of the government and the deteriorating security in the country. By doing so, they essentially allowed buyers or sellers to go back on previously made commitments due to events beyond their control. The last vessel to leave the LNG facility was the GDF Suez Point Fortin, and the Marib Spirit, which was on its way to Balhaf, was diverted to Middle East. The Balhaf gas export terminal ships LNG primarily to Asia and to some European countries.

Yemen on Friday lifted force majeure on liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries from its Balhaf plant, trading sources with knowledge of the matter said. Reuters reported last week that the 6.7-million-tonne-per-year gas export terminal, operated by France's Total, had declared force majeure due to deteriorating security following the collapse of the government. Force majeure is a clause in contracts that allows buyers or sellers to renege on commitments due to events beyond their control.   Reporting by Oleg Vukmanovic