Gas leak forces evacuation of Europe's only large LNG plant

April 23, 2024

Equinor's Hammerfest LNG plant in northern Norway was evacuated on April 23 due to a gas leak during maintenance, the company said. Production at the plant was halted after the leak was discovered, while all 54 people who were at the plant at the time were accounted for.

Equinor said in a statement that the leak had been stopped but it was too early to determine whether there would be a delay in future production. No injuries were reported in the incident and it is not believed to pose a threat to the public.

Local police attended the scene and are continuing to work with Equinor to determine the cause of the incident. This was the second gas leak to halt production at the plant last year, following an incident in May 2023. Last year's gas leak occurred in connection with a valve in one of the plant's cooling circuits. The gas is used for cooling in the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Equinor's emergency response organization was mobilized and the incident was handled in collaboration with emergency services.

The Hammerfest LNG plant is Europe's only large LNG plant and is located on the island of Melkøya. The plant can process 18.4 million cubic meters of gas per day. The plant closed in September 2020 after a fire. Due to a series of extensive repairs, the facility could not be reopened until May 2022.

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