Freeport LNG Development LP has fully restored operations to one of three LNG storage tanks that had been offline for nearly three years following an incident and fire at the export facility.

Freeport said May 21 that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had cleared the tank to return to service.

The tank had been offline since June 8, 2022, after LNG piping to the tank was damaged at Freeport LNG's Quintana Island, Texas, liquefaction facility. The incident “resulted in the release of LNG, leading to the formation and ignition of a natural gas vapor cloud and subsequent fire,” Freeport said at the time.

At the time, Freeport accounted for about 20% of U.S. LNG exports.

Despite operating with only two of its three LNG storage tanks in service, Freeport LNG said it safely achieved record LNG production rates during the past year, most recently achieving an all-time company record LNG production month in April. Freeport said it completed a debottlenecking project that increased its LNG production capacity while working on recovery efforts. 

The company worked collaboratively with local, state and federal regulators and other key stakeholders in the recovery effort, according to a press release. Returning the third LNG storage tank safely back into service is the final phase of the company's recovery and restoration work that followed the incident.

"Today is a significant milestone for Freeport LNG as it marks the completion of the physical restoration of our facility after the June 8, 2022, incident. Getting to this point would not have been possible without the hard work and diligence of our employees and contractors," said Michael Smith, Freeport LNG founder, chairman and CEO. "Freeport LNG has emerged from this incident as a more resilient company, with an enhanced safety focus based largely on process safety management initiatives implemented across the organization after the June 8 incident.”

Since the incident, Freeport LNG said it has improved its organization, doubling the size of its operations and maintenance workforce and strengthening key leadership positions across the company, including top executives and various areas such as maintenance, operations, engineering and environmental health and safety.

“By strengthening Freeport LNG's organizational muscle and demanding high performance in all aspects of its business, these organizational improvements are delivering very positive early returns, including driving safe, reliable and sustained operational performance and increasing LNG throughput, all while maintaining a commitment to safety discipline that underpins the company's achievement of an industry-leading safety record,” the company said. 

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