This move is part of restoring production after a seven-month outage from a fiery blast last June.
Global Impact of Shutdown
The shutdown had a significant global impact, driving prices for superchilled gas to record levels. The outage also forced big customers, including JERA and Osaka Gas, to book hundreds of millions of losses. On the other hand, domestic customers benefited from more gas available at depressed U.S. gas prices.
Expected Timeline for Restart
Rystad Energy analyst Ade Allen expects the restart to take place in mid-March. He estimates that it will take about 60 days from the restart for the plant to fully utilize. JERA, one of Freeport's five big customers, said it was not counting on getting LNG from the plant by the end of March.
Regulatory Process
In addition to FERC's approval, Freeport must also receive approval from the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Some community groups and Sierra Club have requested public hearings and the opening of Freeport's filings.
