Our Arctic Neighbors: Statoil postpones plant’s startup again

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Technical challenges are still delaying the startup of Statoil’s Melkoya liquefied natural gas plant near Hammerfest in northern Norway, the company said in a release Nov. 23. The plant, which processes gas from the Snohvit field in the Barents Sea, was shut down in the fall for planned upgrading and maintenance. Running-in after the completion of the turnaround began Nov. 7.

A fault in one of the plant’s utility systems arose during the running-in, which has now been repaired. A second fault then occurred in an electric motor which forms part of the cooling process. Statoil decided that the motor must be replaced by a reserve unit that is stored at the nearby Polarbase in Hammerfest.

“Replacement work is already well under way, and personnel from the operations organization and the contractor will work around the clock until the plant is ready to resume startup,” the release said. “The unexpected faults which have occurred during the first running-in phase are not related to the work done during the turnaround,” the company added.

—Sarah Hurst