Statoil says in a press release that some 145,000 cubic metres of LNG was on board Arctic Voyager when it departed. Statoil has since the start-up of the LNG-plant at Melkøya in the very north of Norway has long-lasting operational problems with the plant.
Since last August the plant was closed for a four month period for upgrading and maintenance, as reported by BarentsObserver.
The maintenance shutdown was completed in early November, as reported by BarentsObserver. But start-up was delayed by problems affecting the facility’s large electrical motors, which form a central part of the refrigeration process, Statoil reports.
The Snøhvit gas field is the first development in the Barents Sea and the world’s northernmost LNG facility.
At peak production an LNG tanker will depart from Melkøya every five or six days, with each vessel transporting almost 150,000 cubic metres of LNG to customers worldwide.
Statoil is a partner together with Total and Gazprom to develop the Shtokman field in the north-eastern part of the Barents Sea. A huge LNG-plant for the Shtokman gas is planned to be built in Teriberka north of Murmansk on the coast of the Kola Peninsula.
