Production was halted temporarily by Statoil at Hammerfest LNG on July 10 “as a result of water ingression in the natural gas dryers,” the Norwegian state-owned company reported.
Water ingression causes ice formation in the cooling circuit, Statoil said, adding, “Big efforts are being made to get the gas liquefaction plant back on line quickly.” Closer inspection will make it possible to say how long the production halt will last, the company said.
Statoil’s share of production from Snohvit—the first petroleum development in the Barents Sea—is about 50,000 boe/d.
Hammerfest has no installations above the sea’s surface, therefore large amounts of natural gas are sent ashore and cooled down at Hammerfest LNG on Melkoya.
Hammerfest is the world’s northern-most and Europe’s first LNG export facility.