US-based energy giant Chevron has reportedly shut down operation at the third liquefaction train of its Gorgon LNG plant on Barrow Island in Western Australia.
The train was shut for planned maintenance on Wednesday and is set to restart operation by December 25, trade sources told Reuters.
While issues with the heat exchangers that are limiting the plant’s production capacity have been stated as the reason for the shut-down, some traders told the maintenance period could be shorter with a potential return to production within one week.
Chevron started-up the third and the last Train at the Gorgon facility that has a total capacity of 15.6 million mt/year in March this year.
However, the troubled $54 billion LNG project has been hit with several production interruptions since it shipped its first cargo in March last year.
The Gorgon LNG project 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).
LNG World News Staff