Total's Yemen LNG on course to start late 2008

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Total's (TOTF.PA) Yemen LNG liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is on target to come online on schedule at the end of this year, an executive said on Thursday.

"I'm pleased to report everything is on time," Donna De Wick, LNG Trading Executive at Total Gas and Power in London, told a conference.

She said the project was expected to start in December.

A spokesman for Total in Paris said only that it was scheduled to come online during the winter of 2008-2009.

Although the project is expected to meet its deadline, the cost has risen to $4 billion, Total said, $300 million more than previous estimates.

Oil and gas project costs have escalated world-wide in response to rising raw material costs and a tight market for skilled labour.

The project will have capacity to produce 6.7 million tonnes per year of LNG, which is gas chilled to liquid for ease of transport.

Total is the main shareholder in Yemen LNG with 39.6 percent, while U.S. Hunt Oil holds 17.2 percent. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis, editing by Anthony Barker)