Chevron has reportedly started work in order to begin the pipe cooling and pre-start activities in order to resume production at its $54 billion Gorgon LNG plant on Barrow Island in Australia.
The facility halted production soon after the first cargo was shipped in March due to a mechanical issue in the propane refrigerant circuit on Train 1.
Chevron’s spokeswoman told The West Australian, the start-up activities on Train 1 are under way with the production set to resume in the coming weeks.
Additionally, the spokeswoman noted construction activities on the second and third production train continued without effects on the timing.
Chevron did say, following the refrigerant circuit failure, the repairs would last 30 to 60 days, and Joe Geagea , the company’s executive vice president for technology, projects and services, at the end of April said the restart could be expected in May.
Prior to the mechanical failure, Train 1 production peaked at nearly 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent and Chevron still expects the ramp-up to full capacity over the next six to eight months, despite the issue.
Chevron did not comment on the costs of the repair works tipped to be up to $200 million.
According to the report by The West Australian, the project’s second LNG cargo, destined for LNG giant Shell, is expected to leave Barrow Island by the end of this month.
At full capacity, the plant on Barrow Island will have the capacity to produce 15.6 mtpa of LNG using feed gas from the Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields, located within the Greater Gorgon area, between 80 miles (130 km) and 136 miles (220 km) off the northwest coast of Western Australia.
The largest single resource project ever developed in Australia is operated by Chevron that owns a 47.3 percent stake, while other shareholders are ExxonMobil (25 percent), Shell (25 percent), Osaka Gas (1.25 percent), Tokyo Gas (1 percent) and Chubu Electric Power (0.417 percent).
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LNG World News Staff