Energy giant Chevron has suspended production at Australia's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, Gorgon, a fortnight after shipping its first cargo.
It could take up to two months to carry out mechanical repairs and restart the plant, which began producing LNG off the northwest coast of Western Australia a month ago.
Based on initial findings, the repair work is of a "routine nature" and all of the necessary equipment and material is available on-site, US-listed Chevron said.
"A restart of the plant within 30 to 60 days is estimated at this time," Chevron said in a statement.
The Gorgon operator said the plant had been producing up to almost 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day before production was "temporarily halted" due to mechanical issues with a refrigerant circuit on Train 1 at the plant.
The propane refrigerant circuit is a closed system used to cool natural gas supplied to the plant.
"Work necessary to complete the repairs is ongoing while the site team continues equipment inspection and assessment," Chevron said.
The company did not say whether the production interruption would affect its forecasts, but added that Train 1 ramp-up to full capacity was still expected to occur over six to eight months from initial start-up.
The timing of construction on LNG Trains 2 and 3 has not been affected by the mechanical issues to Train 1, Chevron said.
In January Chevron signed a preliminary agreement with China's ENN LNG Trading company to supply LNG from Gorgon which has suffered several delays.
Chevron has a 47.3 per cent stake in the Gorgon project with joint venture partners ExxonMobil, which owns 25 per cent, Shell which has 25 per cent, Osaka Gas which owns 1.25 per cent, Tokyo Gas, with a one per cent interest, and Chubu Electric Power which has 0.417 per cent.
Chevron's chairman and chief executive John Watson previously said the company was positioned to become a major LNG supplier by 2020 and Gorgon would drive long-term growth for decades to come.
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