Freeport LNG Development, an LNG export company headquartered in Houston, Texas, and the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) have entered into a consent agreement related to the June 8 incident at Freeport LNG’s liquefaction plant on Quintana Island, Texas. On that day, LNG was released from the facility, leading to the formation and ignition of a natural gas vapour cloud, and subsequent fire. There were no injuries and no threat to the safety of the surrounding community.
Freeport LNG’s obligations under the consent agreement are intended to ensure that the company can safely and confidently resume initial LNG production and ultimately return to full operation of all liquefaction facilities.
In the near term, the agreement includes corrective measures, many of which are currently underway, that Freeport LNG is to take to obtain PHMSA approval for an initial resumption of LNG production from its liquefaction facility.
Freeport LNG believes it can complete the necessary corrective measures, along with the applicable repair and restoration activities, in order to resume initial operations in early October.
In addition to the repair and replacement of physical infrastructure damaged in the incident, and as part of the corrective measures under the consent agreement, the company is evaluating and advancing initiatives related to training, process safety management, operations and maintenance procedure improvements, and facility inspections.
