Cove Point LNG starts annual maintenance

BHE GT&S said in a notice on Wednesday that “the Cove Point liquefaction facility is undergoing its annual maintenance.”

The maintenance started on August 20.

“This maintenance only affects the export liquefaction facility and does not impact the provision of FERC jurisdictional services,” it said.

The Cove Point terminal operator did not reveal in the notice how long the maintenance would last.

A separate notice to customers suggests that the maintenance may last until October 10.

Last year, the plant’s maintenance occurred from September 20 to October 12.

Also, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy completed last year the $3.3 billion deal with Dominion Energy, boosting its stake in the Cove Point LNG terminal.

Dominion sold its 50 percent noncontrolling limited partner interest in Cove Point LNG, to Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which operates the facility and owns a 100 percent general partner and 25 percent limited partner interest.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy, via BHE GT&S, now has a total ownership interest of 75 percent.

A subsidiary of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners holds the remaining 25 percent limited partnership interest in Cove Point LNG.

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.

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.