A second plant shutdown for scheduled maintenance at the GNL Quintero Terminal will take place on Sunday

During this process - as in the first shutdown last week - the flame of the Terminal will be used to burn off excess natural gas; this generates virtually no emissions.

13 de November de 2020

The second total plant shutdown for scheduled maintenance at the GNL Quintero Terminal, initially planned for this Saturday, November 14, will now take place on Sunday, November 15, starting at 06:00. The shutdown will last approximately 20 hours.

This implies an interruption of the reception and unloading of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the dispatch of natural gas to the pipeline network and the loading of trucks with LNG.

Scheduled maintenance shutdowns are part of an improvement program to enable us to continue ensuring a clean operation, with high standards of reliability and safety, through which to supply LNG and natural gas to central Chile.

Given the duration of the shutdown, it will be necessary – as in the shutdown on Saturday, November 7 – to use the Terminal’s flame intermittently to burn off the excess natural gas that is generated. This produces a visible flame but causes practically no emissions and does not generate black smoke because natural gas burns very cleanly. In fact, if the flame were permanently alight, the resulting sulfur dioxide and particulate matter emissions would represent a tiny fraction (less than 0.5%) of the total emissions generated on an average day by the other sources around the Quintero Bay.

It is important to note that the flame’s use during both shutdowns is permitted under our Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) and is envisaged in the GNL Quintero Operational Plan approved by the environmental authorities.

All the work is carried out under strict safety measures and the permanent supervision of specialized technical teams. These activities have also been duly coordinated with the energy sector authorities and our clients.