Melkoya LNG Plant Shut Down after Smoke Alert

Statoil confirmed to Rigzone Wednesday that it suffered a health and safety incident at its Melkøya LNG plant Tuesday evening.

Reports emerged Wednesday morning that personnel at the plant had to be removed to a safe area after smoke appeared in its electrical room.

A spokesman for Statoil confirmed to Rigzone that the incident occurred just after 7.30pm Norwegian time. He said:

"Smoke was detected automatically in an electrical room. This is an electrical room for one of the main compressors at the LNG plant.

"The fire alarm went off and we manually shut down production at the plant according to our procedures."

The spokesman said the Statoil is currently assessing the damage and looking at how this can be repaired, although he could not say how long this might take.

The Melkøya plant receives gas from the Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea, with Statoil's share of production amounting to approximately 48,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Last June, Melkøya was shut down for a week following a rupture in a firewater line at the plant.