Assemblyman Heo Jong-sik "Information Provision to Citizens and Strengthening Precision Testing Needed"
It has been confirmed that gas leaked from an LNG (liquefied natural gas) storage tank at the Korea Gas Corporation's Incheon Production Base four years ago, and the tank has been out of operation since then.
According to data received by Representative Heo Jong-sik (Incheon Dong-gu Michuhol Gap) of the Democratic Party of Korea from Korea Gas Corporation on the 17th, gas leaked from a 100,000㎘ LNG storage tank at the Incheon base in February 2020. The leak occurred at three points outside the concrete tank roof, with a maximum leakage concentration of 5,000 ppm (0.5 Vol%).
The tank, completed in 1996, underwent precision inspections and maintenance work by Korea Gas Technology Corporation from 2015 to 2017 and continued to operate until the gas leak was confirmed during the final defect inspection in 2020. Korea Gas Corporation is currently carrying out repair work costing 10 billion KRW and plans to complete the process within this year and resume tank operation from January next year.
Precision inspections and maintenance work initiated in 2015 cost 9 billion KRW, and an additional 10 billion KRW has been invested for defect repairs due to the gas leak. The construction costs will be shared between Korea Gas Corporation and Korea Gas Technology Corporation depending on the defect liability determined by the cause investigation.
The Korea Gas Corporation Incheon Production Base is a key domestic production base responsible for about 33% of the nation's natural gas production and is considered the world's largest production base with 23 storage tanks.
Representative Heo stated, "The Korea Gas Corporation Incheon Base Headquarters faced significant safety controversies during the expansion project in 2013 and the gas leak incident in 2017," adding, "It is regrettable that information was not provided to citizens regarding the gas leak from the tank after maintenance work and the nearly five-year suspension of its operation."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
