A unit of Berkshire Hathaway has completed annual maintenance at the Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Maryland.
BHE GT&S, part of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, said in a notice issued on Thursday that the “Cove Point Liquefaction Facility annual maintenance is complete” and effective on October 28.
The Cove Point terminal operator started the planned maintenance on October 1.
Last year, the plant’s maintenance started on September 20 and took about three weeks to complete.
BHE GT&S has a 25 percent stake in Cove Point LNG and shares ownership of the facility with Dominion Energy (50 percent) and Brookfield (25 percent).
This year Cove Point LNG shipped its 300th cargo since it started commercial liquefaction operations in April 2018. It consists of an LNG import and export terminal in Calvert County, Maryland, and associated pipeline facilities.
The plant has a storage capacity of 14.6 billion cubic feet and a daily sendout capacity of 1.8 bcf, or about 5.25 million tons of LNG per year coming from one liquefaction unit.
Cove Point LNG also plans to add a single small liquefaction unit to liquefy boil off gas (BOG) to satisfy the increased LNG customer market demand as its existing liquefaction system operates at full capacity.
US LNG exports to Europe surged this year as European countries look to replace Russian pipeline gas and boost energy security.
According to data by the US Department of Energy, most of this year’s Cove Point LNG cargoes landed in Europe as well.
The Cove Point facility produces LNG for ST Cove Point, a joint venture of Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo Gas, and for India’s Gail under 20-year contracts.