Chevron shuts Australian Gorgon LNG Train 1 after minor gas leak

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Chevron Corp has shut one of three processing units, called trains, at its Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant off Western Australia after discovering a minor gas leak on Tuesday, a spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday.

"Train 1 was shut down due to a small gas leak," the spokesperson said, adding that it was too early to tell how long the unit would be down. "We are preparing plans for investigation and repairs."

The leak was detected on piping associated with the dehydration unit on Train 1 and the unit was shut down as a precautionary measure, he said.

Chevron is 47% owner and operator of the 15.6 million tonnes-a-year Gorgon LNG project.

Trains 2 and 3 at the plant are running, and the company is continuing to deliver LNG to customers and gas to the Western Australian, Chevron said.

Chevron's other LNG operation in Australia, the 8.9 million tonnes-a-year Wheatstone LNG plant, recently completed maintenance and has its two trains running.

Gorgon LNG is co-owned by Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Japanese utilities Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas and JERA.

(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Tom Hogue)

By Sonali Paul