Cheniere Energy Inc. has asked federal energy and safety regulators to approve a process designed to return a faulty storage tank at its Sabine Pass facility to service, Reuters reports.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in February 2018 ordered Cheniere to shut down two tanks at the export facility after plant workers discovered a crack at one tank of 1 to 6 feet long, which leaked fuel into an outer layer. During the subsequent investigation, Reuters reports that the agency discovered that a second tank had also experienced LNG releases from an inner tank.
In a filing last week, Cheniere outlined a proposed process to prioritize work on one tank (known as S-101), and allow it to return to service in the near-term.
According to Reuters, both the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have outlined the necessary steps before authorization can be granted to return the two tanks to service, including a structural re-inspection of all tanks at the facility, as well as the installation of devices to detect leaks.
