Netherlands-based developer Dixstone, an affiliate of French independent Perenco, has selected Dubai yard Drydocks World for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) conversion of an LNG carrier into the Cap Lopez floating storage unit (FSU) for Gabon. The project, awarded via Dixstone Lower Gulf FZCO, will see the vessel reconfigured to support the country’s floating LNG (FLNG) development.
Once converted, Cap Lopez will enable offshore gas liquefaction, storage, and export for Gabon, helping reduce gas flaring and lifting national gas production capacity by about 105 million standard cu ft per day.
Under the EPC scope, Drydocks World will carry out extensive modifications on the LNG carrier, including the fabrication of more than 700 tonnes of new steel and the installation of approximately 3,000 m of piping. The yard will also install a boil-off gas (BOG) process module weighing 1,400 tonnes and a 350-tonne E-House, together with full drydocking, tank coatin,g and life-extension works.
All conversion activities will be performed under Lloyd’s Register classification to meet applicable safety and compliance requirements. Sail-away of Cap Lopez from Dubai is scheduled for July 2027.
The contract adds another large-scale LNG conversion project to Drydocks World Dubai, part of DP World, by extending the operating life of an LNG carrier as a floating storage unit. The company noted that the agreement aligns with its role in delivering infrastructure that supports the global energy transition and expressed its appreciation to Dixstone Lower Gulf FZCO for the award.
This latest assignment follows an earlier contract between Drydocks World and Amigo LNG—the Mexican joint venture of Texas-based Epcilon LNG and Singapore-based LNG Alliance—for an FLNG liquefaction facility at a planned LNG terminal in Mexico.
