Sabine Pass Undamaged by Laura: Cheniere

Cheniere Energy said August 31 its Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana sustained no damage from Hurricane Laura, which hit the US Gulf Coast in the Lake Charles area on August 27, and it is working to restart the facility, which had been shut down as a precaution.

Aerial and boat inspections of the facility, as well as technical and third-party examinations, revealed no significant damage to the liquefaction facility and its pipeline assets, and the facility performed as designed through the Category 4 hurricane. Work is also expected to resume today on train 6 and the third berth project at the terminal.

“Most importantly, all of our employees are safe and accounted for,” Cheniere CEO Jack Fusco said. “After the storm, we carefully assessed our facility and discovered no significant damage, and we have begun executing startup plans to safely resume operations.”

To assist the region in recovering from the impact of Laura, Cheniere said it has pledged $1mn to relief efforts, including delivering fuel, water and other supports to first responders, coordinating employee volunteers to support recovery and cleanup, providing corporate matching gifts for employee donations to local recovery efforts and accelerating the payment of taxes, fees and other payments to local and state governments.

Sempra Energy, meanwhile, confirmed minimal flooding and no “catastrophic wind damage” after preliminary visual inspections of its Cameron LNG facility in Louisiana and its Port Arthur LNG project site in Texas. Thorough inspections will be conducted once site security and safety can be confirmed, it said.