On Tuesday, a scaffold collapsed on a tank under construction at an LNG export terminalin Texas, killing three men.
The accident happened on the work site for Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG plant, about 90 miles to the east of Houston. At about 0200 hours local time on Tuesday, a scaffold around the top of a new concrete LNG containment tank gave way. Three workers fell several stories and suffered fatal injuries. Two more were injured and were left stranded on the scaffold; the injured men have been treated and released from the hospital.
The deceased included Felipe Mendez, 25; Felix Lopez, 42; and Dontrell Magee, 41, according to local 12 News. Magee was found alive at the scene but died later at the hospital, Jefferson County authorities told local media.
Contractor Bechtel has temporarily halted work on Port Arthur LNG for an internal review, and has sent on-site tradesmen home to their families. In a statement, Bechtel said that a “tank jump form system incident” had occurred, and said that it would be cooperating with authorities in an investigation.
Imagery from the scene showed a single section of the circular scaffold hanging down from the structure, still attached on one side.
Port Arthur LNG is a vast project, and construction on the first phase began in 2023. It is on track for completion in 2027-8, and thousands of people are employed on the project.
The first phase alone will have two liquefaction trains and an export capacity of 13 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). It is located on the Sabine-Neches Ship Channel, next to Golden Pass LNG and Sabine Pass LNG. Its production capacity is fully subscribed on long-term contracts with ConocoPhillips, RWE, PKN Orlen, INEOS and Engie.
