Chevron, a US-based energy company, temporarily halts the third liquefaction train at its Gorgon LNG plant on Barrow Island in Western Australia. The operation was shut down due to a mechanical issue that arose.
According to Chevron’s spokesman, the cause of the halt is still under investigation.
Although there are allegations that the mechanical issue is likely due to a heat wave sweeping across Australia, it is not officially confirmed by Chevron, up to now.
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Also, Reuters added that there’s a high possibility that higher than usual temperatures have the potential to affect the cooling processes of an LNG plant.
In addition, the past four days are all among Australia’s top 10 warmest days on record, according to the country’s Bureau of Meteorology.
Yet, despite the shut down of liquefaction train 3, there is no interruption to trains 1 and 2 and the company continues producing LNG and load cargoes.
According to Reuters, the interruption will most likely boost Asian LNG prices, since they’re experiencing their weakest for this time of year in at least two years due to a mild winter in East Asia.
Concluding, the facility is capable of producing 15.6 million mt/year from its three trains.
