An international consortium led by the France’s Total SA plans to start construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Cote d’Ivoire by mid-2017.

The project has an estimated cost of between $130.6m and $141.5m and is predicted to be up and running by mid-2018, an official from Azeri SOCAR Trading, a member of the consortium, stated to Reuters.

According to Petroleum Africa, SOCAR Trading’s Chief Project Officer, Togrul Kocharli, said that the terminal’s initial annual capacity is estimated at 36m British thermal units (Btu), with a possibility to increase it to 100mBtu. He added that Cote d’Ivoire would be a natural gas regional hub for neighboring countries.

Azeri SOCAR Trading acquired a 26% stake in Ivory Coast LNG, as the international consortium is named. The other companies participating in the project include Total, Shell, Golar, Endeavor Energy and Cote d’Ivoire state companies Petroci and CI Energies.