Forklift manufacturer Linde has overseen construction of a 35,000 tonne natural gas liquefaction plant, which was shipped 2,700 nautical miles from Spain to northern Norway.

The barge-mounted plant was transported by one of the world's largest heavy lift vessels, the Blue Marlin, to the Norwegian island of Melkoya, near Hammerfest, according to a Linde statement.

The plant will be part of Europe's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, 1,000km north of the Arctic circle. Linde's gas & engineering business segment is a joint-venture partner in the project.

Linde is responsible for engineering, procurement and construction assistance.

The plant will begin operations in late 2006 and have a production capacity of 4.3 million tonnes of LNG a year.

Linde board member Dr Aldo Belloni said on-site assembly of the processing plant would have been very expensive, due to extreme climatic conditions and a lack of infrastructure. The plant's order value for Linde is 700 million euros.