Hammerfest LNG Snohvit Terminal
| Part of the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project. |
Hammerfest LNG Snohvit Terminal, also known as Snohvit Melkoa LNG Terminal, is an operating LNG export terminal in Norway.
Location
Table 1: Location details
| Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Hammerfest LNG Snohvit Terminal | Melkoa Island, Hammerfest, Finnmark, Norway[1] | 70.6854, 23.59 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the terminal:
Project Details
Table 2: Infrastructure details
| Name | Facility type | Status | Capacity | Total terminal capacity | Offshore | Associated infrastructure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hammerfest LNG Snohvit Terminal | export[2] | operating[3] | 4.2 mtpa[2] | 4.2 mtpa | False | – |
Table 3: Cost
| Name | Facility type | Cost | Total known terminal costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammerfest LNG Snohvit Terminal | export[2] | US$5,900,000,000[4] | US$5,900,000,000 |
Financing
No financing data available.
Table 4: Project timeline
| Name | Facility type | Status | Proposal year | FID year | Construction year | Operating year | Inactive year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hammerfest LNG Snohvit Terminal | export[2] | operating[3] | – | – | – | 2007[3][3] | –[5] |
Ownership
Table 5: Ownership
| Name | Facility type | Status | Owners | Parent companies | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hammerfest LNG Snohvit Terminal | export[2] | operating[3] | Petoro AS [30%]; Equinor ASA [36%]; Eni Energy Group Ltd [12%]; Wintershall DEA [2%]; TotalEnergies SE [18%][6][3][7][6][3][7][6][3][7][6][3][7][6][3][7] | Equinor ASA [36.7%]; Petoro AS [30.0%]; TotalEnergies SE [18.4%]; BASF SE; Eni SpA; LetterOne | Equinor[7][8][9] |
Background
Hammerfest LNG Snohvit Terminal is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction terminal in Norway.[10]
This facility is estimated to generate between 0.29 to 0.34 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) for every metric ton of LNG produced according to a 2013 report.[11]
In February 2020, Equinor announced that it was considering closing the terminal and replacing its capacity with a new pipeline from the Snohvit field.[12]
In September 2020, a fire broke out in an oil-driven turbine at the terminal, resulting in the evacuation of non-emergency staff and the closing down of operations.[13] Substantial fire damage to the terminal has meant that Equinor foresees extensive repair work lasting until March 2022 when it is targeting the restart of operations. Equinor has not disclosed the cost of the repairs, but the Norwegian state is expected to cover approximately 90% of the costs under the Norwegian Covid-19 petroleum tax relief package.[14]
In January 2022, an Equinor representative said that the company was still intending to bring the terminal back online by March 31, 2022.[15] Equinor subsequently informed that the production restart was being delayed by six weeks to May 17 due to COVID-19 restrictions affecting its workforce.[16] As of May 4, 2022, Equinor was on track "for a safe start-up on May 17"[17], however, on May 16, Equinor stated they were "taking the extra time necessary to safely resume operations." On May 22, it extended the outage till May 27.[18] On June 2, production resumed at Hammerfest LNG.[19]
In December 2022, Equinor and its partners announced that they would invest 13.2 billion Norwegian crowns (US$1.34 billion) to upgrade the facility. The new investments will support the long-term operation of the project and do not affect its total capacity.[20]
In June 2023, Eni acquired Nepture Energy, one of the project's owners.[21]
In August 2023, Norway's government approved a project to reduce the facility's emissions, including through onshore compression as of 2028 and electrification of the plant as of 2030. The project also extends the operation of the facility until 2050.[22]
In April 2024, the facility was evacuated and temporarily shut down due to a gas leak during maintenance. [23]
In January 2025, a compressor failure resulted in the facility being shut down for a week.[24]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of LNG terminals, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ https://www.google.com/maps/place/70%C2%B041'07.4%22N+23%C2%B035'24.0%22E/@70.6854,23.5874251,369m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d70.6854!4d23.59?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDYzMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 (PDF) https://giignl.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GIIGNL-2024-Annual-Report-1.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 https://www.equinor.com/news/20220601-production-start-up-at-hammerfest-lng.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.mechademy.com/lng_plant/snohvit-lng-plant/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.reuters.com/article/equinor-lng-idUSL8N2GP46Q.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 https://www.eni.com/en-IT/media/press-release/2023/06/eni-and-var-energi-to-acquire-neptune.html.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 (PDF) https://giignl.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/GIIGNL2022_Annual_Report_May24.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://lngprime.com/europe/equinors-hammerfest-lng-plant-on-track-to-restart-in-may-ceo-says/50432/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.equinor.com/news/20220516-hammerfest-lng-resume-operations-in-one-week.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Hammerfest LNG Snohvit Terminal, GEO, accessed April 2017.
- ↑ Tarika Powell, "BC’S Carbon Pollution Could Double with LNG Plants", Sightline Institute, June 7, 2017
- ↑ Equinor eyes pipeline to replace LNG plant, Upstream Online, Feb. 27, 2020
- ↑ Nora Buli, Fire shuts Equinor's Melkoeya LNG plant, recovery time unknown, Reuters, Sep. 28, 2021
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedupstream - ↑ Norway's Equinor still expects Hammerfest LNG restart in March, LNGPrime, Jan. 26, 2022
- ↑ Nora Buli, Norway LNG plant restart faces new delay in blow to Europe's gas supply, Reuters, Jan. 31, 2022
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:0 - ↑ "Norway's Hammerfest LNG plant extends outage until May 27". Reuters. 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:1 - ↑ Equinor and partners to invest $1.3 bln in Norway LNG upgrade. Reuters. December 20, 2022.
- ↑ "Eni sees synergies of up to $1 billion from Neptune acquisition". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ↑ "Governmental green light to the Snøhvit Future project". 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- ↑ Reuters. Equinor's Hammerfest LNG plant shuts until Friday after gas leak. April 23, 2024.
- ↑ "Equinor's Hammerfest LNG plant shut for one week by compressor failure". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
