Freeport LNG says trains 1, 2 at Texas facility to be down until May
March 20 (Reuters) - Freeport LNG said on Wednesday that trains 1 and 2 at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Texas are anticipated to be down until May, while train 3 is now back online.
“Train 2 liquefaction unit is now offline and our train 1 liquefaction unit will be taken down imminently,” a company spokesperson told Reuters in an email.
The spokesperson also said that repairs pertaining to train 1 and 2 will be completed in May.
Each liquefaction train at Freeport can turn about 0.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas into LNG.
“It was during the January freeze that damage occurred in one of the Train 3 motors. Once we understood the cause of the damage, we knew it would be prudent to take proactive steps to inspect our other two trains,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier in the day, the company said that after maintenance work, Freeport LNG’s production capacity will increase by 10% from 15 million metric tons a year (mpta) to just over 16.5 mtpa roughly by June. Additionally, the company noted that its train 4, which has received all regulatory approvals, will add another 25% of LNG production capacity when it becomes operational.
Freeport LNG, one of the largest U.S. operators of LNG export terminals, experienced a significant fire in 2022.
The U.S. was the largest exporter of LNG globally in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and was also the largest exporter of LNG to Europe.
(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Louise Heavens and Paul Simao)
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.