Chevron Suspends LNG Production at Gorgon Mega-Project for Second Time
By James Paton and Dan Murtaugh
(Bloomberg) — Chevron Corp. halted output at its $54 billion Gorgon liquefied pure fuel growth for the second time this 12 months after a fuel leak on the website, the newest drawback for the Australian mega-project.
The plant, situated on Barrow Island off Australia’s northwest coast, evacuated employees after a minor fuel leak. Chevron will make repairs to the low-pressure flare system and acid-gas elimination unit earlier than restarting manufacturing within the coming week, it mentioned Friday in an e-mailed assertion. The terminal, which can also be partly owned by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, nonetheless plans to load an LNG cargo within the coming days.
“Another short delay is relatively inconsequential for a project that Wood Mackenzie estimates will generate cash flows of nearly $7 billion a year for the partners over many decades,” Matt Howell, a Perth-based analyst for business marketing consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. mentioned by e-mail. “But this latest event does introduce doubts about the facility’s reliability and ability to produce at capacity for that extended period.”
The largest useful resource growth in Australia’s historical past confronted delays, price overruns and labor unrest throughout building. It then began exports to clients in Asia amid the worst vitality droop in a technology. The firm in April briefly halted output simply two weeks after making the primary cargo, citing a malfunction with the propane refrigerant circuit, used to chill fuel equipped to the plant.
Production of LNG restarted this week, Chevron mentioned June 27. The LNG tanker Marib Spirit has been sitting offshore Barrow Island since June 26, in accordance with ship-tracking information compiled by Bloomberg.
After the leak, employees had been informed to go away at about 3 a.m. native time, Mick Buchan, state secretary for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union in Western Australia, mentioned by cellphone.
“The concern we have is there are issues around safety,” he mentioned.
© 2016 Bloomberg L.P
