Our Arctic Neighbors: Statoil upgrades LNG plant

Click here to read the PDF version of this story.
Print this story | Email it to an associate.

Three-month shutdown goes as planned, but technical problems prevent on-schedule startup

Sarah Hurst

For Petroleum News

Production was due to resume in early November at the Snohvit project’s Melkoya liquefied natural gas plant in northern Norway after a three-month planned shutdown for upgrading and maintenance, operator Statoil said in a release Nov. 9. However, there was a technical fault during the running-in process that caused the company to shut the plant down again for repairs.

“The initial technical fault which occurred during startup is fixed, but we are still struggling with another electrical problem which has to be solved before we can start the run-in process in a safe manner,” Statoil spokesman Sverre Kojedal told Petroleum News in an e-mail Nov. 17. “We hope to be on-stream before the end of this week,” he added.

Heat exchangers replaced

“We replaced two of seven seawater exchangers, which have caused problems with leaks, as early as last autumn,” said Statoil’s vice president for operations, Knut Henrik Dalland.

During this year’s shutdown, four more of these units were swapped for a more robust type, the company said. The seventh could be replaced during the planned turnaround in 2010.

“With pre- and post-shutdown activities, more than 600,000 hours have been worked in connection with this turnaround,” Dalland said in reference to the latest shutdown. “That means the operation at Hammerfest LNG has been as big as all the turnarounds on the Norwegian continental shelf put together,” he said.

A total of 1,550 people were engaged at the plant during the shutdown.