22 October 2008
“These consultation workshops of Yemen LNG for social activists, government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) prove that Yemen LNG is truly pursuing to engage players in local community in the designing of local development projects,” Mr. Marwan Muharram, a development activist commented on behalf of participants at the last consultation session and expressed his appreciation to Yemen LNG’s forthcoming initiative. “We hope our partnership with Yemen LNG will become sustainable,” he concluded.

Yemen LNG held three rounds of consultations with various government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from Sana’a, Marib and Shabwah in order to discuss how best Yemen LNG can invest its five-year approved budget of US$ 26 million in the form of Sustainable Development projects. The consultations aimed at gathering information and lessons learned from experienced NGOs and other players that are active in the field of local development in Yemen. The workshops took place on 13, 15 and 18 of October 2008.

Over three days, the participants from several specialised government and NGOs exchanged knowledge focusing on the key programme areas set forth in Yemen LNG’s internal Sustainable Development Plan. On the first day, participants discussed ways to boost development in the areas of agriculture and fisheries respectively over the morning and afternoon sessions. On Day 2, social development was the focus of discussion highlighting lessons learned while working on health and education projects. On the last day, participants contributed to the Company’s knowledge on infrastructure projects specifically pertaining to water and electricity.

Introducing the three-day consultation workshops, Ms. Claudine Chavee, Community Relations and Sustainable Development Manager at Yemen LNG stated that “by meeting with experienced community investment specialists and by having individuals from both Marib and Shabwah, Yemen LNG is in a fortunate position to learn from their experiences and the projects they have implemented to date.” “The workshops should also provide an opportunity for Yemen to share some of our research and understanding of social and environmental issues facing the communities in the project area and gather their feedback and opinion to gauge accuracy,” she concluded.

Yemen LNG’s objective is to leave a positive legacy in its operating locality and in the country as a whole. The Company has launched a Sustainable Development Plan with a budget of $26 million over the next five years (2008-2012) aiming at improving the quality of life and creating livelihood development opportunities of communities residing along the Yemen LNG pipeline (which crosses from Marib—the source of gas—to Shabwah Governorates—where the plant and port are being constructed) and around the LNG liquefaction plant in Balhaf, Shabwah Governorate. In its last meeting in June 2008, Yemen LNG Board of Directors approved the Long Term Sustainable Development (SD) Plan which reconfirming Yemen LNG’s commitment to invest in the local development of its neighbours in a manner that is sustainable and in a way that benefits local communities to the maximum extent possible. The Plan focuses mainly on improving the social and economic conditions of communities near project operation areas.