Chevron suspends production at Gorgon Train Two LNG project

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- Chevron has temporarily suspended production of LNG at its Gorgon Train Two production line in Australia, the company said on Monday.

Photo Courtesy of Chevron.

The Chevron-operated Gorgon LNG plant has suffered several shutdowns since it first began producing gas in October.

Chevron, which holds a controlling 47.3% stake in the Gorgon project located off Western Australia, suspended production at the Train Two facility at the end of February but resumed production days later.

"Production at Gorgon Train Two is being temporarily suspended for a planned turnaround to enhance the train's reliability in alignment with previously arranged strategies," a Chevron spokesman said in an email statement, without saying when Chevron planned to restart the production line.

"The remainder of the plant production continues to be steady," the spokesman said, adding that the turnaround would allow for modification works to improve the capacity and reliability of a key flow measuring device on the train.

ExxonMobil, which has a 25% stake in the $54 billion Gorgon project, had previously issued a spot tender to sell a cargo of the supercooled fuel for loading over March 25-26, two traders with knowledge of the tender said.

The tender, which was due to close on Monday, has since been cancelled. It is unclear if the cargo was eventually loaded, the traders added.

Gorgon LNG most recently loaded a cargo of LNG on to the Chevron-owned tanker Asia Endeavour on March 24 for delivery to North Asia, Thomson Reuters Eikon trade flows data shows.

Reporting by Mark Tay; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Edmund Blair

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