Algeria's In Amenas T3 Restarts
Train 3 of the In Amenas gas complex in Algeria's Sahara Desert has restarted, according to a statement from state producer Sonatrach.
"Sonatrach announces the restart of Train 3 of the Tiguentourine gas complex since July 27 2016, after the completion of the repair works and integrity checking," reported Algerian state news agency APS on August 4. Sonatrach did not post the statement onto its own website.
"After trains 1 and 2 were put on stream in 2013, the Tiguentourine complex is now running at its full production capacity with the restart of Train 3," continued Sonatrach's August 4 statement, which commended the "very professional Algerian skilled team" that had undertaken repair work.
Statoil, the largest shareholder in the In Amenas partnership that includes Sonatrach and BP, confirmed to Natural Gas Europe on August 5: "Yes, train 3 has now been restarted."
However, whilst all three gas process trains are now back in working order for the first time since an Islamist attack in January 2013, Norway's Statoil says that full production -- at In Amenas's overall capacity of just over 9bn m3/yr -- will not resume until work on compressors is finished later this year.
"It is correct that train 1 and train 2 were able to re-start soon after the attack in January 2013; train 3 will not add new production before new compressors are completed later this year," a Statoil spokesman added in an emailed statement to NGE on August 5.
Location of In Amenas and In Salah gas field complexes, in which Statoil, Sonatrach and BP are partners (Map credit: Statoil)
Statoil had provided a similar message to NGE earlier this week. On that occasion, it gave its average net In Amenas 2Q 2016 production as 16,700 barrels oil equivalent/day. As Statoil’s share of In Amenas is 45.9%, that suggests that In Amenas gross 2Q production (at 100%) was 36,385 boe/d.
Mark Smedley