Freeport LNG restart postponed

Freeport LNG said its recovery plan envisions using its second LNG loading dock as a lay berth until the plant is fully reopened in March 2023.

The company has contracted Kiewit Energy Group to perform the engineering, procurement, and reconstruction activities necessary to rehabilitate Freeport LNG’s facility following a fire and explosion in June 2022.  

The incident at the facility occurred at approximately 11:40 local time on 8 June, 2022, and resulted in the release of LNG, leading to the formation and ignition of a natural gas vapour cloud, and subsequent fire. There were no reported injuries.

The incident occurred in pipe racks that support the transfer of LNG from the facility’s LNG storage tank area to the terminal’s dock facilities located on the intracoastal side of Freeport LNG’s dock basin. None of the liquefaction trains, LNG storage tanks, dock facilities, or LNG process areas were impacted, Freeport LNG said at the time.The fire was extinguished with the help of local emergency response personnel in about 40 minutes.

In early July, the PHMSA said Freeport LNG would have to take several corrective actions before restarting production. PHMSA said a preliminary investigation indicated “conditions exist at Freeport’s LNG export facility that pose an integrity risk to public safety, property, or the environment.”

In early August, Freeport LNG said it had entered into a consent agreement with PHMSA related to the incident at its Quintana Island, Texas, facility. At the time, Freeport LNG said it believed it could complete the necessary corrective measures, along with the applicable repair and restoration activities, in order to resume initial operations by early October.

When the facility does come back online initially, initial operations are expected to consist of three liquefaction trains, two LNG storage tanks and one LNG loading dock, which the company has said it believes will enable delivery of approximately 2 bcf per day of LNG, which would be enough to support its existing long-term contracts.

"In addition to the repair and replacement of Freeport LNG’s physical infrastructure that was damaged in the incident, and as part of the corrective measures under the Consent Agreement, the company is evaluating and advancing initiatives related to training, process safety management, operations and maintenance procedure improvements, and facility inspections," Freeport LNG said. 

Freeport LNG said it will "coordinate closely with representatives of the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the US Coast Guard and other applicable regulatory agencies to implement the recovery plan and corrective measures to ensure a safe and confident resumption of operations".

With a nameplate capacity of 15 mta, the plant’s shutdown has come at a time when record US LNG exports are headed to Europe as the continent tries to fill gaps in supplies left by sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its ongoing war in Ukraine. The facility is the US’ second largest LNG liquefaction and export plant. 

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