Petronas LNG Plant Dodges Fire Disruption

Malaysia’s Bintulu LNG plant is expected to suffer little disruption following a fire, local media reported February 25.

The fire at the Petronas-operated plant’s seawater cooling facility was reported February 23.  The Malaysian state-owned company confirmed the incident, but has not offered guidance on the extent of the damage or how it will affect operations.

“The fire broke out at about 6am on Friday at the cooling section outside of the gas processing plant,” a spokesman said according to Malaysia’s The Star Online. “The Petronas emergency team doused the fire within an hour. No one was injured. We are investigating the cause,” he added.

The 29.3mtpa facility is not delaying shipments, according to reports. A Japanese source reported that fire had little effect on the terminal’s operations. Shipments were dispatched February 23 and 24.

The plant is expected to experience limited production disruptions or cargo loading delays, industry sources told S&P Global Platts. Petronas did not respond to requests for further information.

Bintulu previously suffered a fire in July 2016. The LNG complex’s nine trains operate with a production capacity of 30mn tons/y.