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Production at the fire-ravaged Melkøya oil plant will start again during the New Year at the earliest, Equinor announced a warning to the market on Monday.
The fire at the Melkøya oil plant caused the plant to shut down in 2020. Photo: Bjarne Halvorsen / NTB
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Press spokesperson Eskil Eriksen at Equinor confirms to NTB that the company has sent a message to the market that it will be a while before production resumes.
The facility has been closed since a serious fire broke out on September 28.
– Hammerfest LNG has informed the market that the facility will be closed for the remainder of the year. Work is still being done to investigate the extent of the damage and clarify what caused the fire, but based on the information we have now, the facility will be closed for the rest of the year, Eriksen tells NTB.
– What economic consequences does it have?
– We don’t want to speculate on that now. We are now working full time to get an overview of the extent of the damage and to help get the plant back up and running in a good and safe way, says Eriksen.
Permissions “not on the radar”
The cause of the fire is unknown, but it started in a turbine at the production plant. The Norwegian Oil Safety Authority has called the fire one of the most serious incidents in Norwegian oil history.
All employees were evacuated when the fire broke out, which they also did two weeks earlier when a serious flammable gas leak was discovered at the same plant.
– What about the employees now, are they laid off?
– Layoffs have not been on the radar at this time, says Eriksen.
