Fire controlled at Hammerfest LNG

Earlier in the day, Norwegian energy company Equinor, operator of the facility, reported a fire broke out in a turbine at the facility. Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the facility.

No personnel were reported injured or missing, with all non-response personnel evacuated from the facility, according to a statement by Equinor.

Hammerfest LNG was shut down in accordance with emergency routines. Equinor’s emergency response organisation was mustered to support in handling the situation, and relevant authorities were notified, the company said.

On 29 September, Equinor reported that it was assessing the damage from the fire and the cause of the incident.

Hammerfest LNG, outside Hammerfest in Finnmark county, is a facility that receives and processes natural gas from the Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea. The gas is conveyed in a 160-km gas pipeline to the facility, which became operational in the autumn of 2007. Equinor was the operator during the development phase and now has operational responsibility for the facility.

Earlier this month, Equinor awarded Aibel a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract to modify the Hammerfest LNG plant in connection with the Snøhvit Future project. The FEED work will cover two sub-projects under the Snøhvit Future development: onshore compression and Hammerfest LNG electrification. FIDs on the two projects are expected in 2021.