Royal Dutch Shell Plc  .com Rotating Header Image

Chevron Halts Production At Gorgon Plant For Second Time This Year

Screen Shot 2016-07-01 at 23.22.31

Screen Shot 2016-07-01 at 23.23.17

Screen Shot 2016-07-01 at 23.27.25

By Lincoln Brown – Jul 01, 2016, 3:18 PM CDT

For the second time this year, Chevron has stopped production at its Gorgon liquefied natural gas operation in Australia. The plant had to be evacuated after a gas leak was detected.

Chevron will make the necessary repairs to the plant before restarting production next week. The plant is a joint venture with ExxonMobil, Shell, Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas and Chubu Electric Power. The terminal, which is also owned in part by Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, will still load cargo during the interim.

Matt Howell of Wood Mackenzie Ltd noted: “Another short delay is relatively inconsequential for a project that Wood Mackenzie estimates will generate cash flows of nearly $7 billion a year for the partners over many decades, but this latest event does introduce doubts about the facility’s reliability and ability to produce at capacity for that extended period.”

The operation has had a history of difficulties. In April, immediately after its first shipment of liquefied natural gas, Chevron had to stop operations to address a malfunction in a propane refrigerant circuit. On top of everything else, the company began shipping product to Asia during a severe energy slump. This week, Chevron is repairing the low-pressure flare system and acid-gas removal system. The company anticipates restarting production next week.

The Gorgon plant is the largest in the history of Australia and cost $154 billion. It is located off the country’s northern coast. According to the company’s website, it is developing the Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields. The project will handle 15.6 million-tons-per-year. The first and third cargoes will reportedly go to Chevron, while the second and fourth will go to partners Exxon and Shell, respectively.

Chevron executive vice-president of technology and projects, Joseph Geagea had previously stated that the company expected to reach full production within six to eight months after the plant began operations.

By Lincoln Brown for Oilprice.com

SOURCE

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comment Rules

  • Please show respect to the opinions of others no matter how seemingly far-fetched.
  • Abusive, foul language, and/or divisive comments may be deleted without notice.
  • Each blog member is allowed limited comments, as displayed above the comment box.
  • Comments must be limited to the number of words displayed above the comment box.
  • Please limit one comment after any comment posted per post.