Chevron resumes production at first Gorgon LNG train

A unit of US energy giant Chevron said it has resumed production from the first train at its Gorgon LNG facility in Western Australia after it found a “minor” gas leak.

Chevron Australia temporarily suspended production from this 5.2 mtpa unit on November 16. The company said then it found the small leak on piping associated with the dehydration unit on the first train during routine operator duties at the LNG plant located on Barrow Island.

“Production at Gorgon LNG Train 1 has resumed following the completion of repair work on piping associated with the dehydration unit,” a Chevron spokesperson told LNG Prime in an emailed statement on Friday.

“Chevron worked systematically to safely address the issues and maintain natural gas to our customers and the Western Australian domestic market, the spokesperson said.

Investigation underway

The spokesperson said that “appropriate measures are in place to keep our workforce safe and a root cause investigation is underway.”

Chevron did not provide any additional information.

The firm has earlier this year completed repair works at the first train after it found “weld quality issues” within heat exchangers that closed the plant’s second and third production unit as well.

The firm said in late July it had completed repairing heat exchangers at the third Gorgon LNG train. Since then and prior to this leak, the plant had all three trains online.

Besides Gorgon, Chevron continues to produce LNG at both of its Wheatstone trains where it recently finalized the first major turnaround at the 8.9 mtpa plant near Onslow in Western Australia.

The Gorgon development is one of the world’s largest natural gas projects with a price tag of about $54 billion.

The giant 15.6 mtpa plant liquefies gas coming from two offshore fields – Gorgon and Jansz-Io.

The first LNG cargo departed Barrow Island in March 2016 followed by gas supply to the domestic market in December.

Chevron Australia operates the project with a 47.3% share while ExxonMobil and Shell have a 25% stake, each.

Japan’s Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas, and JERA own the remaining stakes in Gorgon.

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