Second LNG processing train down at Chevron’s Gorgon to fix cracks, with third likely to follow in new year

Chevron’s worst fears about problems at the Gorgon LNG plant have been realised with confirmation a second processing line is riddled with cracks. Evidence that welding problems are not limited to one LNG train at Gorgon comes as news emerged about the full extent of problems at the company’s neighbouring Wheatstone project. The West Australian understands the offshore safety regulator considered shutting that facility but was convinced by Chevron the unprecedented move was not warranted. Chevron recently discovered cracks on one of the heat exchangers on train one at the $US54 billion Gorgon facility. It is the same problem that saw train two taken out of action for six months. The energy giant is all but resigned to finding defects on train one’s remaining seven exchangers, which are known as propane kettles, and is preparing for a long and costly re-welding program. It is believed Chevron is confident the first train will be repaired faster than train two, with welding teams working on Barrow Island now proficient in the work. The third and final train will be shut down early next year for inspection. The company is convinced it will have to be repaired also because it was manufactured at the time and in the same South Korean factory. Chevron declined to comment on the status of train one, which was taken offline on December 6. Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union State secretary Steve McCartney said the discovery of cracks on another train justified the union’s safety warnings. “It is clear we have been right all along to demand the shutdown of these trains,” he said. “We have been calling on them to shut down and inspect all three trains for safety reasons since July, a call that continues to be ignored by Chevron and the regulator. “It is a shameful tactic by Chevron to keep trains operating while there were serious risks of explosion at Gorgon. “These workers have had to deal with unsociable rosters during COVID-19 and work for months next to massive kettles of pressurised propane that could go off at any moment, the next thing you’d expect is Chevron to ask workers to take a pay cut. “We call on Chevron to do the safe and responsible thing, and shut down the remaining two trains for inspection and repair.” Onshore oil and gas regulator, the WA Department of Mining, Industry Regulation and Safety, said it had “not received the result of the inspections Chevron are doing on train one.” Chevron will file a report once the inspections are finished. “With regards to immediate safety, the team remains satisfied with the agreed practices and procedures that are in place,” a department spokesperson said. “The inspections that Chevron are conducting at the moment allow a more targeted and therefore more rapid repair strategy.” Chevron is managing problems at Gorgon, at the same time as the offshore platform at its Wheatstone plant, 100km south, is being investigated for defects. Scheduled maintenance uncovered a crack on a nozzle attached to one of two vessels that separate hydrocarbons drawn from subsea wells into gases and liquids. “An inspection of the equivalent nozzle on a similar separator on the platform has confirmed that nozzle is not affected by an anomaly,” a Chevron spokesperson said. “We are committed to the safety of our workforce and the safe and reliable operation of our facilities.” The company is now working out how to repair the damaged section, a process that will involve welding 80mm-thick steel walls that need to withstand enormous pressures. It is understood the problem is so severe that offshore regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority, considered ordering Chevron to shut the entire platform — a move that would have closed the entire $US29 billion project. Industry observers said NOPSEMA often put all options on the table at the start of an investigation. “NOPSEMA held discussions at various levels with Chevron regarding Wheatstone, which is normal practice when we’re ascertaining the nature of possible safety issues and the responses being implemented,” a NOPSEMA spokesperson said. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for NOPSEMA to comment on regulatory discussions with a titleholder.” A shutdown order, or “prohibition notice”, is issued if NOPSEMA believes there is an immediate threat to the health or safety of people or an immediate and significant threat to the environment. It is understood Chevron convinced NOPSEMA that such a move was not necessary because the problem could be isolated. NOPSEMA this week issued a “general direction” that Chevron “must ensure all heavy-walled pressure vessels are safe and fit for service”. That direction was a quasi endorsement of the response plan drafted by Chevron. Chevron reported the discovery of the damaged nozzle to NOPSEMA immediately after detecting the fault. The DMIRS spokesperson said the department was “in communication with NOPSEMA about Wheatstone”. “At this stage, we have no reason to believe that the Wheatstone plant is affected in any way,” the spokesperson said. “Chevron has stated that gas supply and operations at the Wheatstone plant are unaffected.”