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Equinor ASA EQNR has announced a 10-day extension to the ongoing outage at its Hammerfest LNG facility in northern Norway. Operations are expected to resume late on Jan. 19. The company stated in a regulatory filing on Wednesday that the delay stems from more complex-than-anticipated repairs to a failed compressor.
The Hammerfest LNG plant, also known as Melkoeya LNG, plays a crucial role in Norway’s gas exports, contributing approximately 6.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually. This volume is sufficient to supply about 6.5 million European homes and accounts for nearly 5% of Norway’s total gas exports.
The outage, initially reported on Jan. 2, involved a compressor responsible for re-injecting the CO2 extracted from the gas stream into the ground. While repairs were originally expected to take one week, the need for additional parts and the complexity of the work have extended the timeline.
Located in Arctic Norway, the Hammerfest plant processes gas from the Snoehvit field in the Barents Sea, about 143 kilometers offshore. The facility is owned by Equinor, alongside Petoro, TotalEnergies, Vaar Energi and Harbour Energy.
Norway’s pivotal role in Europe’s energy security has become even more pronounced since the Ukraine crisis disrupted Russian gas supplies. As Europe’s largest natural gas supplier, Norway exports most of its gas via offshore pipelines in the North Sea, with Hammerfest LNG serving as Europe’s largest liquefied natural gas export facility.
Equinor’s update on Gassco's regulatory website reaffirms the importance of timely resumption, especially during winter, when gas demand peaks across Europe. The extended outage highlights the challenges of maintaining critical infrastructure under extreme Arctic conditions.
EQNR’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
EQNR currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors interested in the energy sector may look at some better-ranked stocks like TechnipFMC plc FTI, Sunoco LP SUN and Oceaneering International, Inc. OII. While TechnipFMC and Sunoco presently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) each, Oceaneering carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
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