Equinor to upgrade Hammerfest LNG plant

Norway

OSLO, December 21, 2022 – Equinor and its partners have submitted a plan for development to upgrade and extend the operational life of the Hammerfest LNG plant in Norway, the state-owned energy company announced on Tuesday.

The work will consist of an onshore gas compressor to extend the facility’s plateau production and shore-powered electric steam boilers to replace gas turbine generators and cut the project’s carbon dioxide emissions by around 850,000 tonnes per year.

Additionally, the project will involve construction of a tunnel, a transformer station and a 420-kV power line from Skaidi to Hyggevatn.

The development phase is expected to be completed in 2028 and extend the life of the facility by 10 years.

The asset is located on the island of Melkøya outside Hammerfest and produces an average of 18.4 mcm (650,000 cubic feet) of gas per day, which is converted into 4.65 million tonnes of LNG, 340,000 tonnes of LPG and 730,000 tonnes of condensate per year.

The facility meets the demand of 5% of all Norwegian gas exports.

Gas is sourced from the Snøhvit field, which lies in the central part of the Hammerfest basin in the southern part of the Barents Sea.

Equinor holds a 36.79% stake in the project along with partners TotalEnergies with 18.4% equity, Neptune Energy with 12% shares and Wintershall Dea with the remaining 2.81% stake.