The environmental regulator in Texas has fined Freeport LNG, a company that exports liquefied natural gas (LNG), $152,173 for breaking air pollution emissions rules in the state. This violation occurred between 2019 and 2021, according to the company’s report on Tuesday.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) announced on April 11th that Freeport LNG has been releasing carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds in higher amounts than what is permitted. These releases have been happening over several years due to flaring at their plant in Quintana, Texas.
Freeport LNG has experienced multiple issues in the past few years, including a major fire in 2022 and the need for repairs in several plants. These problems have resulted in the company producing LNG at a much lower capacity than usual.
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The state suggested lowering Freeport LNG’s penalty to $121,739 if the company promptly resolves the violations and commits to preventing future emissions releases.
As of Tuesday, Freeport LNG has been mostly offline for six consecutive days. The amount of natural gas being supplied to the plant is currently 18 million cubic feet (mcf), which is much lower than the usual 2.2 to 2.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d).
The company announced on March 20 that its Train 2 liquefaction unit was shut down. They also mentioned that Train 1 would be taken down soon for inspections and repairs. Both units are expected to be fixed by May.
Freeport had said that the units would be taken offline when Train 3 returned to production. Train 3 had been taken out of service due to motor damage caused by a freeze in January.
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