French oil and gas major Total has announced that the Yemen Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant has been brought on-stream and the $4.5 billion facility is now processing gas from Block 18 in the Marib region of the Middle Eastern country.

The first of two gas trains is now operational, with work to bring the second online nearing completion. The plant itself is located 320 km from the Marib field at the southern coastal port of Balhaf.

In a statement, Total said that special attention had been paid to ensuring that the plant will benefit local communities with investment, jobs and education.

A dedicated training and development programme was established to ensure that local workers were able to drive development of the facilities.

"Yemen's gas potential was discovered, Total has supported Yemen in developing its gas industry and in becoming an LNG exporter," said Yves-Louis Darricarr're, president of Total exploration and production.

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