The UK’s Dragon LNG import terminal in Milford Haven, Wales, will soon close for a planned maintenance turnaround.
Dragon LNG, equally owned by energy giant Shell and a unit of infrastructure investment manager Ancala, plans to start the 26-day maintenance shutdown at its Waterston site from May 17.
“The shutdown will enable Dragon to carry out periodic maintenance and inspection, whilst taking advantage of the opportunity to carry out some small improvement projects in a safe and controlled manner,” it said in a statement.
During the shutdown, Dragon LNG expects over 140 valve overhauls to take place, about 960 Covid-19 LFD | PCR tests, and over 200 virtual site safety inductions.
The LNG terminal operator says this will mark the first shutdown of the facility since 2011.
The facility received its first LNG cargo in July 2009. It consists of a jetty, two storage tanks, and regasification facilities with a maximum gas send-out rate to the UK’s transmission system of 7.6 bcm per year.
Shell and Petronas have 50 percent capacity rights at the facility, each. The Malaysian company sold its 50 percent share in the facility to Ancala in 2019, but it kept a long-term throughput agreement with the terminal.
Worth mentioning here, Dutch Gate LNG terminal in Rotterdam will also close next month, just in time when Dragon LNG plans to complete the UK terminal’s maintenance. This will be the first major maintenance turnaround since the start of operations almost ten years ago for the Gate facility.