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May 9, 2002
MOL, Itochu, to Establish Joint Company with
Algeria's State Oil Company
Agreement Includes Long-Term Charter of Newly
Built LNG Carrier for Sonatrach
TOKYO - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL, President,
Kunio Suzuki) and Itochu Corporation (President:
Uichiro Niwa) today announced the establishment
of a joint venture company with Sonatrach
(Algeria's state petroleum company) and Sntm-Hyproc
(Sonatrach's wholly owned shipping subsidiary).
Each company holds a 25% share. The joint
venture has also agreed on a long-term charter
of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier
for Sonatrach, and will order the 145,000m3
LNG carrier from Kawasaki Heavy Industries,
Ltd.
Algeria is the world's second largest LNG
exporting country, and has been involved
in the trade to Europe and North America
since 1961. Annual exports for 2000 totaled
over 20 million tons. The new carrier will
help Sonatrach continue to expand its sales,
and will be jointly operated by Hyproc and
MOL.
Itochu has worked with Sonotrach since 1969
on a broad range of projects. MOL, the worldwide
leader in LNG transport, has expanded its
global crosstrade operations. MOL is the
first Japanese shipping company to involve
in Algeria's LNG project.
Through this joint venture, Itochu and MOL
will contribute to further development of
the LNG business in Algeria.
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