Offshore staff
STAVANGER, Norway – Equinor expects the Melkøya LNG plant offshore Hammerfest, northern Norway, to remain out of service until the end of March 2022.
The facility handles gas from Equinor’s fields in the Barents Sea. A fire last September caused extensive damage after striking the air intake of one of the five large gas turbines.
Grete B. Haaland, the company’s senior vice president for onshore plants, said: “We have worked systematically on getting an overview of the damages and scope of work to bring the plant’s technical condition back to the required standard.
“There is still some uncertainty related to the scope of work; however, our best start-up estimate is March 31, 2022, based on current knowledge.”
COVID-19 operational restrictions have slowed progress, with fewer workers allowed on site at the same time.
Another complication was the potential exposure of more than 70,000 equipment components to seawater during the firefighting. However, these have since been systematically checked, with a repair plan now in place for securing the plant’s integrity.
More than 180 km (112 mi) of electric cables connected to the power station where the fire occurred have to be replaced. The new cables should arrive at Melkøya over the next few months.
Other major items such as compressors also need to be removed and sent to the supplier for repairs.
Equinor’s internal investigation of the fire continues.
04/26/2021
