Freeport LNG set to restore almost full output in early October
The Freeport LNG plant in Texas is set to resume operations in early October at close to its full capacity, under an agreement with regulators, its operator reported on August 3.
The 15mn metric ton/year export plant, a major supplier to the European market, was closed in mid-June after a serious fire, and previously its operator indicated that it would take until the end of this year for full operations to be resumed.
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In its latest update, however, the operator said that under a consent agreement with the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulating body, it expects the terminal to resume production at a rate of 2bn ft3/day in early October – close to its full capacity. Prior to the fire, the main destination for the facility's gas was Europe, with supplies to the continent reaching 1.17bn ft3/d in May, according to Rystad Energy.
The announcement by Freeport LNG figured a spike in the price of the NYMEX Henry Hub August contract of over 7% to $8.266/mn Btu at the end of August 3 trading. European gas prices saw only a modest drop, with the TTF September contract dropping 1.4% during the day's trading to €202.3 ($206)/MWh.
On the same day Gazprom claimed that the Western sanctions regime against Russia made the return of a Siemens turbine from Germany to the Nord Stream compressor station impossible, dashing hopes that the pipeline will boost flow to Europe, currently only at 20% of its capacity. However, the German government has claimed there are no obstacles to the delivery of the turbine, sent to Canada for maintenance and repair, back to Russia, accusing Gazprom of stalling the shipment.