Equinor Pushes Back Reopening of Hammerfest LNG Plant After Fire

   By Dominic Chopping 
 

Equinor ASA said Monday it now expects its Hammerfest liquefied-natural-gas processing plant to reopen on March 31, 2022, following last September's fire.

The company said shortly after the fire that it expected the plant to be closed for up to a year, but the comprehensive scope of work and Covid-19 restrictions has now pushed back the estimated start date.

Hammerfest LNG, on Norway's northern coast, receives and processes natural gas from the Snohvit field in the Barents Sea, with gas transported in a 160 kilometer pipeline to the facility.

In addition to the damage caused by the fire to the air intake on one of the plant's five gas turbines, firefighting also caused substantial damage. More than 70,000 unique equipment components were potentially exposed to seawater during the firefighting, while inspections show that more than 180 kilometers of electric cable must also be replaced, the company said.

New cables have been ordered and will arrive during this spring/summer and other components are being procured for delivery this summer/autumn. Several major equipment components, including several compressors, must also be taken out of the plant and sent for repair, the company said.

Equinor said it is still conducting an internal investigation of the fire.

Write to Dominic Chopping at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 26, 2021 04:11 ET (08:11 GMT)

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