Reopening of Equinor’s plant on Melkøya postponed by one week

Melkøya firePhoto: Bjarne Halvorsen / NTB

Equinor’s Hammerfest LNG facility on Melkøya was to reopen on May 17. The opening has been postponed until next week. The plant had to close after a fire in 2020.

Over the weekend, a minor fault was discovered on a compressor that must be repaired before the reopening can take place. The part is now being replaced, and the gradual start-up of the plant will continue throughout the week, Equinor stated on Monday.

“Hammerfest LNG is ready for production, but we’ll use some extra time to start up the plant safely,” Grete B. Haaland, director of onshore facilities at Equinor, said.

At the end of September 2020, a fire broke out at the plant outside Hammerfest. The plant produces liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Snøhvit field.

The Melkøya fire may have cost Equinor NOK 20 billion in lost revenue, analyst Teodor Sveen-Nilsen in Sparebank 1 Markets estimated in April.

The plant can produce more than 6 billion cubic meters of gas a year from the Barents Sea, according to the company.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

Do you have a news tip for Norway Today? We want to hear it. Get in touch at [email protected]

Be the first to comment on "Reopening of Equinor’s plant on Melkøya postponed by one week"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*