Freeport LNG Development’s third LNG storage tank in Freeport, Texas, recently returned to service with the approval of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The storage tank had been offline for nearly three years after LNG piping to the tank was damaged in the June 8, 2022, incident at Freeport LNG’s natural gas liquefaction and LNG export facility. Freeport LNG worked collaboratively with local, state, and federal regulators and other key stakeholders in every aspect of the company’s incident recovery effort, the company reported.
Returning the third LNG storage tank safely back into service is the final phase of the Freeport LNG’s recovery and restoration work that followed the incident.
“Today is a significant milestone for Freeport LNG as it marks the completion of the physical restoration of our facility after the June 8, 2022, incident,” Michael Smith, Freeport LNG founder, chairman, and CEO, said in a news release. “Getting to this point would not have been possible without the hard work and diligence of our employees and contractors. Freeport LNG has emerged from this incident as a more resilient company, with an enhanced safety focus based largely on process safety management initiatives implemented across the organization after the June 8 incident.
“While the physical restoration is complete, our efforts in continuous improvement in process safety and operational excellence will continue each day. Safety remains Freeport LNG’s top priority. I couldn’t be prouder of our employees and their hard work, and I thank them for all of their efforts and dedication.”
Since the incident, Freeport LNG has implemented significant improvements to its organization, doubling the size of its operations and maintenance workforce and strengthening key leadership positions across the company, including at president, CFO and COO, and in the areas of operations, maintenance, engineering, process safety, environmental health and safety, security, marine operations, business innovation, and treasury. By strengthening Freeport LNG’s organizational muscle and demanding high performance in all aspects of its business, these organizational improvements are delivering positive early returns, including driving safe, reliable, and sustained operational performance and increasing LNG throughput, all while maintaining a commitment to safety discipline that underpins the company's achievement of an industry-leading safety record, the company added.
Simultaneously with the company’s June 8 recovery efforts, the above organizational changes and its improvements in process safety and reliable operations, the company completed a debottlenecking project that increased its LNG production capacity. Over the past year, despite operating with only two of its three LNG storage tanks in service, Freeport LNG has achieved record LNG production rates, most recently achieving an all-time company record LNG production month in April.