Nov. 21—Freeport LNG said it aims to restart some of its production next month after an explosion in June forced the Houston company to close its liquefied natural gas facility on Quintana Island.
The shutdown has held back U.S. LNG exports at a critical time, as Europe and other regions overseas stock up for winter. The company had initially hoped to restart its facility in October.
Most of the reconstruction work is complete and remedial plans have been submitted to regulatory authorities for review, Freeport LNG said in a statement. It aims to complete reconstruction by the end of November and to partially restart its facility "in mid-December."
Freeport LNG's three liquefaction units will be "ramped up safely, in a slow and deliberate manner," the company said. It expects to reach 2 billion cubic feet per day of production in January, with full operations of its export facility resuming in March.
"Our teams have worked diligently over the last several months alongside regulators to ensure the safe restart of our facility," said Freeport CEO Michael Smith. "We are committed to moving forward with an uncompromising safety focus and enhanced operational processes that will enable us to chart a safe, sustainable path forward to serve our customers and the broader LNG market as a whole."
amanda.drane@chron.com
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