Chevron Confirms Gorgon Restart Target

US major Chevron confirmed July 29 it intended to restart the second train at its 15.6mn mt/yr Gorgon LNG facility in Australia in early September, once it completes repairs to a pair of propane heat exchangers.

Routine turnaround maintenance on Train 2 began in late May, and scheduled work has been completed. But a routine inspection of the train’s eight heat exchangers found weld quality issues in two of them, a Perth-based spokesman for Chevron told NGW in an email.

“Repairs are underway and we have the necessary personnel with skills and knowledge to conduct the work onsite,” he wrote. “Once repairs are complete, we expect to safely commence LNG Train 2 restart activities around early September.”

Appropriate safety measures are in place, and Chevron is co-ordinating the repairs with Australia’s Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.

Production from Trains 1 and 3 at Gorgon continues, and Chevron and its partners continue to deliver LNG and domestic gas under its contractual commitments.

Chevron Australia holds a 47.3% interest in Gorgon and is the project’s operator. Other joint venture partners include the Australian subsidiaries of ExxonMobil (25%), Anglo-Dutch major Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%) and Jera (0.417%).