Operations at Freeport LNG could be ramping up again after more than a week of near-zero gas flows to the Texas facility drove speculation that multiple trains were offline, according to pipeline and vessel data.
Feed gas nominations for the liquefied natural gas terminal started rising over the weekend and have grown to about 17% of operational pipeline capacity as of Monday, according to Wood Mackenzie pipeline data. The consultancy also reported over the weekend that power output to the facility has risen for the first time since a reported outage of Train 3 on April 11, indicating that production has resumed.
On Monday morning, a vessel controlled by Pavilion Energy PTE Ltd. was at Freeport’s Berth 1 for loading, according to Kpler data. At least three other vessels that have indicated Freeport as a destination for loading later this week were idling just offshore the South Texas coast.
At full operational capacity, Freeport LNG is able to produce about 2 Bcf/d for export. Feed gas flows to Freeport have been reduced to about a quarter of capacity since early March after Freeport LNG Development LP reported extended maintenance and repairs for all three trains until early May.
Train 3 resumed operations in mid-March after being damaged by a winter storm earlier in the year, according to the company. However, feed gas nominations and power draw from the facility dropped to almost zero after the company told Texas environmental regulators it had to restart the unit following an issue with the ventilation flow meter.
In March, Freeport CEO Michael Smith told NGI that the company has changed its approach to long-term operations and maintenance since a 2022 explosion at the Quintana Island facility. Since then, the company boosted staff by 30% and has initiated new projects to improve efficiency and stability.
One of those initiatives, a debottlenecking project, could help boost Freeport’s liquefaction capacity to 16.5 million metric tons/year by early summer. Smith said the project was being completed in conjunction with the maintenance and repairs currently underway.
The stunted feed gas demand from Freeport has helped add pressure to the U.S. natural gas market over the past week as weaker international demand and maintenance at other facilities across the Gulf Coast have pushed down overall feed gas flows.However, Wood Mackenzie estimates demand from LNG could be back on the rise this week. On Monday, the consultancy estimated LNG feed gas demand at 10.6 Bcf/d for the next seven days, compared with 10.2 last week.
