Freeport LNG Development LP has reported another outage of its third train, currently the only one not under extensive maintenance at its Texas terminal, days after production appeared to resume, according to pipeline data and regulatory filings.
The firm told Texas environmental regulators the unit experienced a system trip on Tuesday afternoon that lasted until midday Wednesday, requiring flaring. This time, the issue was ascribed to a problem with the main cryogenic heat exchanger.
“The plant operators managed the cooldown and restart of Train 3 as efficiently as possible to minimize flaring, as well,” Freeport staff said in a filing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
It marks the second reported system trip of Train 3 in two weeks. The last reported incident on April 11 was attributed to a ventilation flow meter.
Feed gas nominations to the liquefied natural gas export terminal sank to around 5% of operational capacity Wednesday after previously ramping up for the first time in a week, according to pipeline data from Wood Mackenzie. The drop in nominations also coincided with a decline in power to the facility, according to the consultancy.
By Thursday morning, pipeline utilization was down to almost 0% of capacity, according to nominations data.
The return of nominations and vessel tracking data showing a ship reportedly loading at Freeport’s Berth 1 previously stirred market speculation that operations may be returning after a series of tests. The ship, controlled by Pavilion Energy PTE Ltd., is now heading out of the Gulf of Mexico after possibly receiving a cargo Saturday, according to Kpler data.
At full operational capacity, Freeport is able to produce about 2 Bcf/d for export. Feed gas flows to Freeport have been reduced to about one-quarter of capacity since early March after the company reported extended maintenance and repairs for all three trains until early May.
Train 3 resumed operations in mid-March after being damaged by a winter storm earlier in the year, according to the company.
