Confirming the additional postponement, Equinor cited final tests on a faulty compressor at Europe’s largest LNG export terminal
A fire in September 2020 forced closure of the plant. Initially expected to reopen 31 March 2022, the date was pushed back to 17 May owing, according to operators Equinor, to challenges involved with the Covid pandemic.
Equinor announced another delay on 16 May, saying a “minor fault” in a compressor necessitated replacing the unit, pushing opening back to 23 May.
Norwegian gas system manager Gassco said on 22 May that the opening had been pushed back again, to 27 May, according to a Reuters report.
“Some final tests are remaining on the compressor,” an Equinor spokesperson told Reuters.
16 May
Equinor will restart the Hammerfest LNG plant on Melkøya island, north Norway next week, after undertaking extensive repairs at the plant. Europe’s largest LNG export facility has remained closedsince a fire in September 2020. However, the company said the “run-up of the plant took longer than planned.”
Over the weekend, a “minor fault” was discovered on a compressor which now needs to be rectified prior to start-up. The component is being replaced.
“Hammerfest LNG has been prepared for production, but we are taking the extra time necessary to safely resume operations,” said Equinor senior vice president for onshore facilities Grete Haaland.
The restart comes at a crucial time, when Equinor haspublicly distanced itself from Russian energyand plans to add production in the North Sea for European customers.
31 January 2022
At a time when Europe could use more LNG, the restart of Norway’s troubled Hammerfest LNG has been delayed another month and a half.
In delivering the bad news, Equinor senior vice president for onshore plants Grete B Haaland said the delay was the result of “challenges related to Covid-19 restrictions require that we need more time to prepare the plant for safe and stable start-up and operations.”
The plant startup has been pushed from 31 March 2022 to 17 May 2022.
Europe’s largest LNG export facility, with a capacity of 4.2 mta, has been shut since a fire on 28 September 2020 caused extensive damage. Equinor, the terminal’s operator, reported that the fire damaged the Melkøya facility’s air intake on one of the plant’s five power turbines, while large amounts of seawater used to extinguish the blaze damaged electrical equipment, cables and other auxiliary systems in the plant.
An audit by the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway conducted a week prior to the fire regarding major accidents and electrical installations at Hammerfest LNG turned up ‘serious breaches’ to regulations relating to the handling of previously identified nonconformities at the plant.
Equinor says extensive work has been carried out since the fire at the plant, including checking more than 22,000 components and replacing 180 km of electrical cables. Additionally, repairs have been made to advanced equipment and compressors, as well as the execution of a planned turnaround and ordinary maintenance. The repairs are being carried out under Covid-19 protocols.
“The latest wave of infections, combined with restrictions and narrow working areas, impacts the progress. At times, half of staff have been in quarantine and isolation,” said Hammerfest LNG plant manager Thor Johan Haave.
