French energy producer TotalEnergies has announced that construction has begun on its LNG bunkering vessel, which is set to operate in Oman.

The keel-laying ceremony for the 18,600 m3 vessel was held at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding yard in China, the company said in a LinkedIn post on Monday.

Once delivered, the vessel will be deployed in Oman, where TotalEnergies is developing the Marsa LNG project.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Marsa LNG plant in Sohar was held earlier this year. The facility will have a liquefaction capacity of more than 1 million mt/year and will primarily serve regional bunker demand. Production is expected to begin in 2028.

Marsa LNG LLC is a joint venture between TotalEnergies (80%) and the Omani exploration company OQEP (20%).