US supermajor Chevron has resumed production from Train 2 at its Gorgon liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia after it took several months to repair cracks found during routine maintenance.

A Chevron spokesperson confirmed Monday that LNG production had resumed from Train 2 at the Gorgon LNG site.

The train has been offline since cracks were found in Train 2’s eight heat exchangers during routine maintenance in July.

Chevron had originally hoped to have the train back online by September, however the restart was pushed back after it was decided some welds in targeted areas required “additional work".

Other trains to come offline

The operator is also now required to inspect the other two trains at the US$54 billion LNG project for similar issues to those found at Train 2.

Chevron confirmed Monday that preparations were now under way to shut down Train 1 for inspection, which will then be followed by Train 3.

“The length of the shutdown will be determined by what is discovered during inspections. Following completion of inspections and potential repairs on Train 1, Train 3 will undergo a similar process,” a Chevron spokesperson confirmed.

“Chevron and the regulator share the same goal of maintaining the safety of our workforce and operating facilities and will maintain alignment on requirements for sequencing of inspections and potential repairs on Trains 1 and 3.

“The appropriate safety measures are in place and we continue to deliver LNG to customers and gas to the Western Australian domestic market under our contractual commitments with customers.”

The 15.6 million tonnes per annum Gorgon project lies on Barrow Island, just off the coast of Western Australia, and is fed by the offshore Gorgon and Jansz-Io fields.

The joint venture owners of the Gorgon LNG project include operator Chevron with a 47.3% interest, ExxonMobil with 25%, Shell on 25%, Osaka Gas with 1.25%, Tokyo Gas on 1% and Chubu Electric Power with 0.417%

LNG

Back online: Chevron resumes production after repairing cracks on Gorgon LNG train