Shell-led LNG Canada's second processing unit still down, sources say

By Curtis Williams

HOUSTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Shell-led LNG Canada's second processing unit, known as Train 2, remains down nearly a month after its initial start-up, two sources told Reuters. 

The company said on November 20 that a re-start had been scheduled for December 1 and would last about two weeks.

A spokesperson for LNG Canada said on Thursday it expects to provide an update later this week.

Located in Kitimat, British Columbia, the complex is the first major LNG export facility in Canada and the first on North America's West Coast with direct access to Asia, the world's largest market for the liquid fuel. When fully operational, LNG Canada is expected to export 14 million metric tonnes of LNG per year.

Since starting up in July, the plant has had challenges, with its first train experiencing technical issues involving a gas turbine and refrigerant production unit. The company on November 6 announced it had started production from its second train, but data from financial firm LSEG has not shown an increase in exports since then.

In both October and November, LNG Canada exported just above half a million tonnes of the superchilled gas, the LSEG data showed.

LNG Canada is a joint venture between Shell, Malaysia's Petronas, PetroChina, Japan's Mitsubishi Corp and South Korea's KOGAS.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Additional reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary; editing by Nathan Crooks and Paul Simao)