CEO Message
2022 proved to be the most difficult year in Freeport LNG’s history. I never imagined our facility could experience an incident like June 8th and that our company would endure a period like the one that followed the incident. I have taken immense pride in our historically strong safety record, the industry experience of our leadership, and our large company operational mentality. However, 2022 made clear that no matter how good your record, the need to be vigilant and continuously improving never ceases; we must always strive to be better. I am incredibly grateful that no one was injured and that our facility design worked as intended, avoiding any adverse impacts to the surrounding community as a result of the incident.
Michael Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO We have now resumed operations and are again servicing our customers from our three liquefaction trains, two LNG storage tanks and a single dock. With the return to service of our second dock anticipated in late May and third LNG storage tank anticipated this summer, the full restoration of the facility is nearly complete. Having now returned to operations, our focus going forward is to ensure that we remain a stable and reliable source of energy supply, helping to support energy security for our allies and ease pricing pressures globally.
Despite the challenging year we leave behind, I am optimistic for the future. As I look ahead, I think about the resiliency of our employees, and how they rose to the challenges we faced. Through diligence, hard work, and an unrelenting focus on the ultimate goal of returning to safe and reliable operations, we rebuilt our facility, implemented and executed on new and improved processes, training, testing and safety systems, and progressed our effort to restore confidence in our business and ensure that an incident like what occurred on June 8th will never happen again. I have immense pride in our organization, and I am extremely grateful for their efforts.
At a macro level, I am more bullish than I have ever been about sustained demand for LNG. I believe this past year was a turning point in the global energy transition – where both energy security and a lower carbon future share center stage. There is absolutely no energy source better fit for these mutually beneficial purposes than natural gas, and Freeport LNG is privileged to have a role in advancing these objectives on a global scale.
The hard lessons learned in 2022 will stick with and guide our company as we move ahead. We are committed to re-establishing our reputation as a reliable source of U.S. LNG for decades to come, and making Freeport LNG stronger and safer than ever.