Equatorial Guinea to start building new LNG train

MALABO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea will soon start the construction of a second production train at its 3.4 million tonnes a year liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on Bioko island, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema said.

Speaking at the official inauguration of the Punto Europa plant operated by Marathon Corp. (MRO.N), Obiang called on delegations from Nigeria, Cameroon, and Sao Tome to help make the installation a gas processing hub for the Gulf of Guinea.

"I am delighted to announce today, at the inauguration of this first train, that we will soon place the first stone in the construction of a second train to produce liquefied natural gas in our country," Obiang told the dignitaries this week.

The president did not give further details of the planned expansion of the facility. In the past year, Equatorial Guinea has clinched deals under which Nigeria and Cameroon will supply gas to an expanded plant.

Marathon owns a 60 percent stake in the first train, with 25 percent owned by national gas company Sonagas and the remainder in the hands of Japanese investors.

Its annual production of 3.4 million tonnes is sold to BG (BG.L) Gas Marketing LTD under a 17-year agreement.

Energy and Mines Minister Atanasio Ela Ntugu said at the inauguration on Tuesday that Equatorial Guinea would negotiate with its Gulf of Guinea neighbours to take a stake in construction of the new train, which would begin shortly.

Marathon officials said this week that production from the plant had been temporarily suspended for equipment repairs, which they described as normal during the process of ramping up output from a new facility.

Equatorial Guinea, sub-Saharan Africa's third-largest oil producer, has seen its output leap since the discovery of large fields in the mid-1990s. The Gulf of Guinea currently supplies nearly a fifth of U.S. oil imports.