Norwegian energy giant Equinor said Monday it plans to restart its Hammerfest LNG export plant on January 1, 2021 following a fire in a turbine at the facility.
To remind, the Norwegian firm shut down the 4.3 mtpa LNG export plant on September 28 following a fire in turbine 4.
After that, Equinor launched an internal investigation while also following up on the incident towards employees and the local community.
The company called the incident “serious” and is working with the the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) to clarify the course of events and to find triggering and underlying causes.
Natural gas from Snohvit reaches Hammerfest LNG via a 160-kilometer gas pipeline which became operational in the autumn of 2007.
Hammerfest LNG is able to produce about 4.3 million tonnes per year of LNG.
The fuel produced at the facility mainly lands at LNG terminals in Europe but also in Asia.
Equinor is the operator of both the Snohvit field and Hammerfest LNG with a 36.8 percent stake.