Damaged Freeport LNG train returns, others face inspections

(Montel) The Freeport LNG facility - the second largest LNG export terminal in the US - has resumed operations at its third liquefaction train, while the other two trains face maintenance until May, the firm said on Wednesday.

URL has been copied to clipboard

"Our train 3 is now online and producing LNG," Heather Browne, director of corporate communications, told Montel in an email. Freezing weather conditions in January caused damage to one of the train's motors, she said, noting Freeport LNG had therefore decided it would be "prudent" to take proactive steps in inspecting the other two trains. "So our train 2 liquefaction unit is now offline and our train 1 liquefaction unit will be taken down imminently," she said.

"We anticipate that our inspections...and any subsequent, necessary repairs resulting from those inspections, will be completed on both trains by sometime in May." The US is Europe's largest supplier of LNG, providing more than half of the region's 13.4bcm of imports in February, according to consultancy Kpler. Freeport LNG provided a record 1.3bcm of the chilled fuel for the terminal to Europe - including Turkey - in December, but this had dropped to 0.8bcm in February.

The outage has contributed to recent gains in Europe's benchmark gas contract, with the TTF front month reaching a six-week high of EUR 29.75/MWh on Tuesday.