US firm Kinder Morgan restarts Elba Island LNG units after fire

Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan has restarted two of the three units shut after a fire at its $2bn Elba Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Georgia, US.

Reuters reported that the fire started in Unit 2 early last week.

The news agency cited Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Katherine Hill as saying that Unit 3 began the restart process and Unit 1 is expected to resume work by the end of this week.

Katherine Hill added: “We are conducting an investigation into the cause of the fire and do not have an estimated date for when Unit 2 will be returned to service at this time.”

Six of the ten liquefaction trains or units at Elba are now available for service. These also include the three shut by the fire, while Kinder Morgan expects the other four to enter service in about a month.

The Elba liquefaction project is being developed by Elba Liquefaction Company (ELC), a joint venture of Kinder Morgan (51% stake) and EIG Global Energy Partners (49%).

It primarily involves the addition of ten liquefaction units to Southern LNG Company’s (SLNG) existing Elba Island LNG Terminal, located at Elba Island in the Savannah River, Chatham County, Georgia, US.

Last month, Kinder Morgan reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit and has cut its adjusted core earnings forecast this year following a decline in fuel demand sparked by coronavirus and a collapse in oil prices.

This January, Kinder Morgan (KMI) announced the sale of its 25 million shares in Canada’s Pembina Pipeline, which it received as part of the latter’s acquisition of the outstanding common equity of Kinder Morgan Canada for $764m.