What happened

A design fault during the first filling of Darwin LNG's storage tank allowed super-cooled LNG into the space between the tank walls, thermally cracking an outer vapor barrier and creating persistent fugitive methane emissions. Infrared-drone monitoring in September 2019 indicated emissions as high as about 184 kilograms per hour, far above earlier descriptions of minute seepage. The operator notified the Northern Territory regulator in May 2020. The tank later emptied after Bayu-Undan supply ended, but the regulator-approved fugitive-emissions plan requires continuing monitoring when it returns to service for Barossa gas. The entry records an ongoing equipment-integrity leak, not an explosion or production shutdown.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.