Norway’s Equinor restarts Hammerfest LNG plant after September 2020 fire

Norway’s Equinor has restarted its 4.3 mtpa Hammerfest LNG export plant, following a fire that broke out at the facility in September 2020.

Equinor closed the 4.3 mtpa Hammerfest LNG plant on September 28, 2020. The fire occurred in turbine 4.

The firm delayed the restart of the facility on several occasions due to “extensive” repair work and Covid.

On Monday, an Equinor spokesperson told LNG Prime that the plant would resume operations on Tuesday and produce LNG to tanks on May 27.

The plant has resumed operations and started cool down, an Equinor spokesperson said on Friday.

However, it is yet to produce the first LNG to tanks.

“We will issue a press release when we have LNG to tank,” the spokesperson said.

Three LNG tankers are still waiting in the vicinity of the LNG plant, their AIS data provided by VesselsValue shows. These include Arctic Voyager, Arctic Lady, and Arctic Princess.

Hammerfest LNG liquefies natural gas coming from the Snohvit field in the Barents Sea.

Gas reaches Hammerfest LNG via a 160-kilometer gas pipeline which became operational in the autumn of 2007.

Equinor is the operator of both the Snohvit field and Hammerfest LNG with a 36.8 percent stake.

Prior to the incident, the facility supplied LNG mainly to terminals in Europe but also in Asia.

The restart of the plant comes at a time when European countries are looking to phase out Russian gas supplies.

LNG imports to Europe reached record highs this year and a big part of these additional supplies came from the US.

Most Popular

ConocoPhillips books Dunkirk LNG capacity

US energy giant ConocoPhillips has booked regasification capacity at France's Dunkirk LNG facility, and it also signed an Asian LNG sales and purchase deal.

Aramco eyes large LNG portfolio

Aramco's long-term ambition is to have a portfolio of 20 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG capacity, according to Aramco’s CEO, Amin Nasser.

Argentina’s Southern Energy takes FID on second FLNG

Argentina's Southern Energy takes FID on second FLNG

More News Like This

Equinor’s Hammerfest LNG back online after maintenance

Norwegian energy firm Equinor has resumed operations at its 4.3 mtpa Hammerfest LNG export plant following an extended maintenance shutdown, a spokesperson for Equinor told LNG Prime on Monday.

MOL, Equinor name LNG-powered VLCC

Japan's shipping giant MOL has named an LNG dual-fuel very large crude carrier which will serve Norway's Equinor under a charter deal.

Equinor further extends Hammerfest LNG maintenance

Norwegian energy firm Equinor has further extended the maintenance shutdown of its 4.3 mtpa Hammerfest LNG export plant, a spokesperson for Equinor told LNG Prime on Monday.

Equinor extends Hammerfest LNG maintenance

Norway’s Equinor has extended the planned maintenance shutdown of its 4.3 mtpa Hammerfest LNG export plant by 10 more days.