- After completing over three months of maintenance, Equinor restarted the Hammerfest LNG terminal on Sunday, August 3, restoring Europe’s largest gas export facility.
- The Melkoeya plant supplies about 6.5 billion cubic metres of gas annually, covering 5% of Norway’s gas exports and powering 6.5 million European homes daily.
Norway’s Equinor has restarted operations at its Hammerfest LNG terminal, Europe’s largest natural gas export facility, following more than three months of maintenance.
The Melkoeya LNG plant, located in Arctic Norway, resumed production on Sunday, August 3, after being offline since April 22. Equinor had initially scheduled the restart for July 19, but delays pushed the timeline back by over two weeks.
With an annual capacity of 6.5 billion cubic metres, the facility can supply gas equivalent to the daily needs of 6.5 million European homes, contributing around 5% of Norway’s total gas exports.
The Hammerfest terminal receives natural gas from the Snoehvit field, located approximately 143 kilometres offshore in the Barents Sea, and processes it into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for global shipment.
Equinor, Petoro, and TotalEnergies jointly own the plant.
The restart is expected to boost Europe’s gas supply ahead of the winter season, easing concerns over energy security amid fluctuating global demand and supply disruptions.