Our Arctic Neighbors: Statoil resumes shipping of Snohvit gas

Production from Statoil’s Snohvit natural gas project in the Barents Sea resumed in mid-December after the four-month shutdown of the Melkoya liquefied natural gas plant ended, the Norwegian company said in a release Jan. 5. The third cargo dispatched after production started again left Melkoya Jan. 4, and the LNG vessels are back in regular operation.

The Melkoya plant had been closed for upgrading and maintenance. The maintenance shutdown was completed in early November, but startup was delayed by problems affecting the facility’s large motors, which form a central part of the refrigeration process. The defective motor has now been replaced by a reserve unit that was in store in Hammerfest.

“These have been demanding months for all involved at Melkoya,” said Knut Henrik Dalland, Statoil’s senior vice president for production. “Hammerfest LNG plant is a highly advanced facility where huge efforts have been made to solve complex technical problems.” The plant’s total capacity will now be verified in a forthcoming performance trial, Dalland said.

At peak production an LNG tanker will depart from Melkoya every five or six days, with each vessel transporting almost 5.3 million cubic feet of LNG to customers worldwide.

“LNG from Snohvit provides us with the flexibility to market gas all over the world,” said Richard Eriksen, who heads LNG trading and operations in Statoil.

Snohvit is the first development in the Barents Sea and Melkoya is the world’s northernmost LNG facility.

—Sarah Hurst