U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Freeport LNG’s export plant in Texas was on track to return to near full power on Friday after shutting unexpectedly on Wednesday, LSEG data showed.
Freeport is one of the most-watched U.S. LNG export plants in the world because it has a history of swaying global gas prices when it shuts and restarts.
Energy traders, however, noted that gas prices around the world did not react much to the Freeport outage because it was caused by what many considered to be a short-term glitch.
Freeport said on Wednesday it had to shut the plant after a fire safety suppression system in the control room of the pre-treatment facility unexpectedly activated during routine maintenance.
The amount of gas flowing to the 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) Freeport plant was on track to rise to 1.8 bcfd on Friday, up from 1.0 bcfd on Thursday and near zero on Wednesday, according to LSEG data. That compares with an average of 2.1 bcfd over the past month.
One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to supply about 5 million U.S. homes for a day.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Mark Porter)