Kinder Morgan's Elba Liquefaction conducting routine maintenance at US facility

Houston — Kinder Morgan's Elba Liquefaction was undergoing routine maintenance Dec. 3, resulting in a drop in feedgas deliveries to the Georgia terminal.

The operator of the smallest of the six major US LNG export facilities did not specify how many of the terminal's 10 units the work involved. "Some maintenance activities are occurring and are expected to be complete in the near term," spokeswoman Katherine Hill said.

In addition to the maintenance, one of the terminal's units remained offline due to damage from a fire in May. Kinder Morgan has not said when Unit 2 will resume service or why assessing the cause of the fire and implementing a repair plan has taken an extended period of time.

Gas deliveries to the facility totaled 185 MMcf/d on Dec. 3, down from 220 MMcf/d on Dec. 1 and a high of 280 MMcf/d on Nov. 30, S&P Global Platts Analytics data show. Total US LNG feedgas flows registered 10.5 Bcf/d on Dec. 3, down from a record 11.3 Bcf/d on Dec. 1.

The terminal near Savannah -- originally built to import LNG and later converted to handle exports after the US shale revolution -- utilizes Shell's Movable Modular Liquefaction System design. With 10 trains operating, it has a capacity of 2.5 million mt/year. Shell is the sole offtaker, under a 20-year agreement.

Kinder Morgan placed the last of its 10 production units into service Aug. 27, though because of the extended shutdown of Unit 2 due to the earlier fire, all 10 trains have not yet produced LNG simultaneously. Elba shipped its first cargo in December 2019.