Sources say that the natural gas flow to Freeport LNG Export Plant in Texas has dropped Wednesday.

Two sources reported that the natural gas flow to an export facility for liquefied gas in Texas, Freeport, decreased on Wednesday. This likely led to a decrease in LNG production, they said.

Freeport, the third-largest LNG export facility in the U.S., has helped to keep the U.S. as the largest exporter worldwide of supercooled gas.

The start-up and shutdown of this LNG export plant can cause major price fluctuations on global gas markets. It can consume 2.2 billion cubic foot of gas each day and produce 16.3 millions metric tons of LNG per year (mtpa).

Gas prices in the U.S. typically drop when flows to Freeport decrease due to a lower demand for fuel from the plant. Prices in Europe are usually higher due to the drop in LNG supply available from the plant to global markets.

Freeport has declined to comment.

According to a document filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, last Friday the company suffered a short power outage at one of its trains. The plant was taken out of service for cooling before it could be restarted.

According to the TCEQ, Freeport stated that the compressor system at the plant was responsible for the trip last Friday. Reporting by Curtis Williams, Houston; Editing and production by Chris Reese & David Gregorio

(source: Reuters)