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Hammerfest LNG opening

again delayed

PROJECTS EQUINOR has again delayed the start-up of the Wintershall Dea Norway, with Equinor as the
Hammerfest LNG export project at Melkøya operator.
in Norway after a fault with a compressor was The plant has been closed since a fire in Sep-
discovered. tember 2020.
The company said that extensive repairs at As well as damage caused by the fire to the air
Melkøya had been completed, but that the final intake at one of the plant’s five power turbines,
run-up of the plant was taking somewhat longer seawater used to extinguish the blaze has also
than planned. damaged other auxiliary systems such as electri-
The company had found a minor fault on cal equipment and cables, Equinor said on Octo-
a compressor that must be rectified prior to ber 26. The company said at that time that work
start-up. The component is now being replaced, could take a year.
and the stepwise process towards operations is Initially, Equinor said that the plant could
expected to take up to a week. open again at the start of 2021. However, inves-
The delay is just the latest of many, with the tigations by Norway’s Petroleum Safety Author-
plant being closed since a fire in September 2020. ity (PSA) and the Norwegian police, as well as
“Hammerfest LNG has been prepared for delays caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19)
production, but we are taking the extra time nec- pandemic, have all delayed any re-opening.
essary to safely resume operations,” said Grete Hammerfest LNG, which liquefies up to
B. Haaland, Equinor’s senior vice president for 5.6mn tonnes per year (tpy) of gas from the off-
onshore facilities. shore Snovhit field, was shut down after the fire
Equinor said in January that the start-up broke out.
of Hammerfest LNG had been scheduled for Since the closure, more than 22,000 compo-
17 May, 2022. After an extensive repair and nents have been checked, 180 km of electrical
improvement work period, the plant has been cables have been replaced and daily around 1,000
prepared for ramp-up. people have been working to get the plant back
The plant is owned by Equinor, Petoro, into operation.™
TotalEnergies, Neptune Energy Norway and

LNG Alliance eyes energy

investments in Montenegro

INVESTMENT SINGAPORE-BASED LNG Alliance is consid- gas-fired power plants in Bar and Podgorica.
ering investments in the energy sector and is in According to the MoU, LNG Alliance,
talks with the government for opportunities, the in co-operation with EPCG, will carry out a
cabinet said in a statement on May 18. detailed feasibility study and will define possible
The company is interested in possible co-op- options for the construction of gas-fired power
eration on some of the key projects in Montene- plants in Bar and Podgorica.
gro’s energy sector, according to LNG Alliance’s LNG Alliance will ensure necessary condi-
vice-president Dhananjoy Kumar Das, who held tions for investments in the development of the
a meeting with Montenegro’s Capital Investment gas-fired power plants, which would be a matter
Minister Ervin Ibrahimovic. of further discussion and planning with EPCG
LNG Alliance signed back in December a and other entities in Montenegro to ensure the
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with necessary LNG import infrastructure for the
Montenegro’s power company EPCG to carry construction of the gas-fired power plant.™
out joint feasibility study for the construction of

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