Adds statement on Train 3 shutdown.
Trinidad and Tobago LNG producer Atlantic has resumed partial operations after the complex was shut down yesterday by a hydrocarbon leak, the company told Argus today.
Three of the complex's four trains have resumed normal operations, Atlantic said.
It is not known when the affected Train 3 will be brought back on line as the leak is being investigated, the company said.
Atlantic did not say how the shutdown of the unit would affect loadings.
"Atlantic's Train 3 remains offline while technical assessments continue following yesterday's event. Once these assessments and any associated repairs are completed, the Train will resume operations. The other three Trains at Atlantic's facility are in service," Atlantic said this afternoon.
Train 3 has nameplate capacity of 3.3mn t/yr. The entire liquefaction complex has 14.8mn t/yr of capacity.
Atlantic´s main shareholders are Shell and BP.
Atlantic's production that been falling over the past four years because of a shortage of natural gas in the domestic market.
"This is a major setback for Atlantic and for the country," an energy ministry official told Argus. "We were hoping LNG output would be stabilized in the second half of this year with an improvement in the availability of natural gas. We do not yet know how long the LNG unit will be down, but each day it stays off line compounds efforts to stabilize production."
The company's response and safety systems were activated immediately after yesterday's leak "and all staff at the facility were evacuated as a precautionary measure," Atlantic said.
"Two service provider employees who were in the vicinity of the release were taken to hospital, where they were treated and discharged."
Atlantic's production declined by 9.3pc to 9.8mn m³ in the first five months of 2017, compared with the similar period of 2016, the central bank reported last month. LNG production in May 2017 was 1.65mn m³, 16.6pc less than in April.
January-May gas output averaged 3.2 Bcf/d, 7.6pc less than a year earlier, according to the energy ministry.
The Atlantic liquefaction complex, located at Point Fortin on the southwestern coast, operated at an average of just over 68pc of capacity last year.
