Equinor's Hammerfest LNG plant extends outage

Norway's Hammerfest LNG plant faces a further delay before it can restart production following a fire in 2020, Equinor and Norwegian gas system manager Gassco said on Monday. The plant, which is operated by Equinor, is now expected to resume output on May 17 of this year, more than six weeks later than the previous goal of restarting on March 31.

Norway's Hammerfest LNG plant faces a further delay before it can restart production following a fire in 2020, Equinor and Norwegian gas system manager Gassco said on Monday.

The plant, which is operated by Equinor, is now expected to resume output on May 17 of this year, more than six weeks later than the previous goal of restarting on March 31. "We work systematically to deliver on the plan we established, but challenges related to COVID-19 restrictions require that we need more time to prepare the plant for safe and stable start-up and operations," Equinor senior vice president Grete Haaland said in a statement.

Europe's only large-scale LNG plant, at Melkoeya island just outside the Arctic town of Hammerfest, can process 18 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas per day when fully operational. The plant has been out of service since September of 2020 following a blaze that raised concerns over safety practices.