Statoil restarts LNG output at Snoehvit
Norwegian petroleum major Statoil said that it resumed the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the giant
Snoehvit field in the Barents Sea before the Christmas holidays.
The LNG facility, which processes gas from the field, in Hammerfest, on the island of Melkoya, northern Norway, was
closed for maintenance and upgrades in the summer of 2009. The start-up of the plant was initially scheduled for
November 2009 but it was delayed due to a defective motor.
The motor has been replaced and Statoil also said that the first cargo, representing about 145,000 cm of LNG on board
of the special tanker Arctic Voyager, was dispatched. The facility's total capacity will be verified in a performance
trial in 2010, Statoil's representative Knut Henrik said.
At peak production, an LNG tanker will depart from Melkoya every five or six days, with each vessel transporting
almost 150,000 cm of LNG to customers worldwide.
