Freeport LNG in Texas set to return to service after lightning strike

Natural gas flows to Freeport LNG's export plant in Texas were set to rise on Tuesday after a lightning strike on a pipeline caused the plant to shut on Monday, data from financial firm LSEG showed.

Freeport is one of the most closely watched LNG export plants in the world because the start and stop of its operations often cause price swings in global gas markets.

When flows to Freeport drop, gas prices in the U.S. usually decline due to the export plant's lower demand for the fuel, while prices in Europe usually increase due to a drop in LNG supplies available to global markets from the plant.

That is what happened with U.S. gas prices on Monday.

LSEG said the amount of gas flowing to Freeport was on track to rise to 1.7 Bft³d on Tuesday, up from 100 MMft³d on Monday. That compares with an average of 2.0 Bft³d during the prior seven days (February 17–23).

Freeport said in a filing with Texas environmental regulators Monday afternoon that it shut the three liquefaction trains at the plant early Monday morning "due to an interruption of feed gas supply from the upstream (pretreatment facility)."

Freeport did not comment on the cause of that feedgas interruption, however, Boardwalk Pipelines' Gulf South Pipeline unit, which delivers gas to the plant, told customers on Monday that it could not deliver gas to the location following a lightning strike.

The three liquefaction trains at Freeport are capable of turning about 2.1 Bft³d of gas into LNG.

One Bft³d is enough to supply about 5 MM U.S. homes for a day.

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