Algeria's Skikda Gas Plant Shuts

Algeria's Skikda plant shut down a 4.7 million tonne-a-year liquefied natural gas unit two weeks ago for maintenance that could take up to two months, a source at state energy company Sonatrach said on Sunday.

The source said bad weather and rough seas have also partially shut down exports from the plant in northern Algeria, a major gas supplier to Europe mainly to Italy, Spain and France.

"The oil port is closed for bad weather, but also because the 4.7 million tonnes-per-year LNG unit has been shut down for maintenance, which started about two weeks ago, and it will last two months," the Sonatrach source told Reuters.

Last week, a shipping source said some Skikda cargoes had been canceled or deferred. The source said one cargo was due to be exported in the next few days and another around Feb. 20.

Live ship-tracking on Reuters Eikon last week showed no ships currently listed as bound for Skikda.

At Algeria's Arzew, with 16.3 million-tons-per-year of export capacity, stormy seas had also prevented tankers from entering port to load supplies.