The Hammerfest LNG plant on Melkoya Island in northern Norway will be closed for up to 1 year for repairs following the Sept. 28 fire, operator Equinor said in a release Oct. 26 (OGJ Online, Oct. 2, 2020).
In addition to damage caused by the fire on the air intake on one of the plant’s five power turbines, large amounts of seawater from the extinguishing have damaged other auxiliary systems such as electrical equipment and cables in the plant, Equinor said.
The shutdown will depend on delivery time of necessary equipment to complete the work, as well as restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said.
“Although a lot of inspection work still remains and there is still significant uncertainty, our best estimate now is that that it may take up until 1 October 2021 to get Hammerfest LNG back into production,” said plant director Andreas Sandvik.
“We will use the shutdown period to also carry out other maintenance and repair work planned for 2021. This includes both ongoing maintenance and maintenance planned in a planned turnaround next spring,” he continued.
Equinor, as well as the Petroleum Safety Authority and the police have started independent investigations of the fire. An investigation by Equinor of a gas leak that occurred in mid- to late-September was initiated in early October, the company said Oct. 2. The operator said while there is no indication of a connection, it is investigating whether the fire can in any way be related to the leak. The company said the investigation also will seek to clarify if a Sept. 28 power outage in Hammerfest was related to the fire.
In the week before the Sept. 28 incident, the PSA carried out an inspection of electric systems and major accident preparedness at the plant, and on Sept. 24, the PSA verbally shared a first summary after the inspection. The PSA said it had observed that some items had not been satisfactorily followed up by Equinor since the same type of audit was last carried out in 2017, and that incorrect registrations have been made in the system used for follow up.