Ike damage to delay Exxon facility start-up

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hurricane damage discovered at Exxon Mobil Corp’s $1 billion natural gas terminal under construction in Texas will postpone the facility’s start up, according to a report in the online edition of The Wall Street Journal on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The liquefied natural gas, or LNG, facility in southeast Texas was damaged by seawater from Hurricane Ike nearly three months ago and assessing damage has taken time, it said.


The report said that people briefed on the matter confirmed the scheduled mid-2009 start-up of the terminal will be delayed as a result.

This will likely cost Exxon and business partners revenue just as plunging commodity prices are hurting energy producers.

Exxon spokeswoman Kimberly Brasington said the company’s assessment of Ike’s impact on the facility was still ongoing.

Reuters