Statoil says Snoehvit LNG production restarted

OSLO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Norway's Statoil (STL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) has restarted gas production at a liquefaction plant serving its Snoehvit gas field in the Arctic after a three-month maintenance shutdown, the company said on Saturday.

"Hammerfest LNG is expected to be capable of operating at full capacity after the turnaround, and this will be verified by a performance test at the end of the year," Statoil said in a statement.

The plant on Melkoya island outside Hammerfest on Norway's far-northern coast, which turns Snoehvit's well stream into liquefied natural gas (LNG), was halted in mid-August for at least two months of planned upgrading and maintenance.

The plant has been beset by teething troubles since the start-up in late 2007.

"The extensive refurbishment and modification of the Hammerfest LNG facility on Melkoya is intended to make the gas processing and liquefaction plant more robust and to ensure that it can maintain a high level of production in the future," Statoil said.

Among the big jobs carried out was the replacement of 15 heat exchangers, which form the core of the liquefaction process for the Snoehvit gas, it said. (Reporting by Richard Solem; Editing by Matthew Jones)