The natural gas processing unit of the Angola LNG company has started operating and the first shipment of liquid natural gas (LNG) is due to be exported this month, the chief executive of Total Gas and Power said in Oslo.

On the sidelines of a gas conference in the Norwegian capital, Philippe Sauquet told financial news agency Reuters that the gas was flowing into the tanks at the Soyo factory, in Cabinda province, and the first shipment was expected this month.

The factory, the opening of which was delayed for 18 months due to technical problems, was further delayed in April when a fire broke out just a few hours before production was due to be launched.

The source cited by Reuters said that this first shipment had already been sold and would either be sent to Brazil or to Portugal, and that the Sonangol Sambizanga ship was already moored and waiting at the factory’s dock.

Angola LNG is the biggest LNG producer operating in Angola and the factory has capacity to process 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day.

The company was founded by a consortium of Sonangol, which owns 22.8 percent of the project and the Angolan subsidiaries of Chevron (36.4 percent), Total (13.6 percent), BP (13.6 percent) and Italy’s ENI (13.6 percent). (macauhub)