Freeport LNG fully restores service after power 'blip' knocks out trains at US facility

Houston — Feedgas deliveries to Freeport LNG surged Nov. 18 after service was restored following an outage that involved a disruption in the power supply at the Texas export terminal.

It was the second time in a month that at least one of the three trains was offline for a period of time for unplanned reasons.

US LNG activity has been at record highs in recent weeks, with total feedgas deliveries currently above 10 Bcf/d, amid strong prices in end-user markets. Heading into the winter, and peak heating season, operators are hoping to keep the momentum going and take advantage of the market rebound from earlier in the year when demand cratered due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a Nov. 16 report to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the plant experienced a power "blip" from its power supplier, which tripped all three liquefaction trains. That resulted in unavoidable venting from the liquefaction trains to the liquefaction flare.

"The plant operators acted to resolve the power issue, restore power and initiate the startup and cooldown of the liquefaction trains as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimize flaring," the report said.

A separate TCEQ report referred to problems that were discovered on Nov. 15 with two transmitters on the flare surge knockout drum. A third report referred to a trip to Train 2 involving an issue with the low-pressure mixed refrigerant compressor that was discovered on Nov. 14.

The reason for the power blip was not explained, nor was it clear from the filings whether all three of the issues were related.

Feedgas deliveries to Freeport LNG dropped more than 1 Bcf/d to 718 MMcf/d on Nov. 15 compared with Nov. 14. Flows edged up to 787 MMcf/d on Nov. 16, before rebounding to 1.4 Bcf/d on Nov. 17 and further to almost 1.8 Bcf/d on Nov. 18, above the level of flows before the outage, S&P Global Platts Analytics data show.

"All trains are now back online," spokeswoman Heather Browne said in an email responding to questions.

Previously, a trip of the low-pressure mixed refrigerant compressor on Train 1 occurred on Oct. 21. While investigating the trip, officials discovered a small fire, which was put out. No gas was released. The train was down for almost three weeks. Service to Train 1 was restored several days before the most recent operational issues.