Natural gas flows to Freeport LNG export plant in Texas drop Wednesday, sources say

By Curtis Williams

HOUSTON, May 28 (Reuters) - Natural gas flows to a Freeport liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas declined on Wednesday, likely leading to a reduction in LNG output, two sources said.

Freeport is the third largest LNG export facility in the U.S. and has helped the country remain the world's largest exporter of the superchilled gas.

It is one of the most closely watched LNG export plants in the world because the start and stop of its operations can often cause price swings in global gas markets. It has a capacity to consume 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day and can produce 16.3 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG.

When flows to Freeport drop, gas prices in the U.S. usually decline due to lower demand from the plant for the fuel. Meanwhile, prices in Europe usually increase due to a drop in LNG supplies available to global markets from the plant.

Freeport declined to comment.

Last Friday, the company experienced a brief power outage to one of its plants, commonly called trains, and had to take the plant out of service to cool down before eventually restarting it, according to a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

Freeport reported last Friday's trip was caused by the plant's compressor system, according to the TCEQ filing.