The island of Melkøya, connected to Hammerfest by the 2,316-metre Melkøysund tunnel, is home to Europe's first liquefied natural gas facility. The plant dominates the harbour view and is unmistakable from the Hurtigruten. Opened in 2007 and operated by Equinor, it processes 18 million cubic metres of natural gas per day, piped 168 kilometres under the Barents Sea from the Snøhvit gas field. LNG tankers shuttle the product to world markets from this tiny Arctic island.
Before the gas plant arrived, Melkøya was farmland and a base for seasonal fishermen. Major archaeological excavations in 2001 and 2002 preceded the construction. The development transformed the island completely, but nature found a way back: an endangered black-legged kittiwake colony adopted one of the facility's man-made cliffs as a nesting site, making it one of the largest kittiwake colonies in the world on a 50-billion-kroner industrial platform.
In September 2020, the plant nearly suffered a catastrophic explosion. Air intake filters on a gas turbine generator had not been changed since 2015; Equinor had switched from calendar-based to condition-based maintenance in 2016 but never established clear inspection routines. Accumulated insect biomass in the pre-filters lowered their auto-ignition temperature, and the filters caught fire. The six-hour blaze caused no injuries, but seawater used in firefighting destroyed over 180 kilometres of cabling. The Petroleum Safety Authority found serious regulatory breaches, and the plant was shut down for over two years, not reopening until June 2022.
The controversies did not end there. In 2025, workers began reporting gas leak incidents and safety failures. One worker spoke publicly for the first time about inhaling gas on the job, only to be removed from his position three hours later. A second whistleblower was also dismissed through the employment agency. Investigations revealed that Equinor had no procedure for getting exposed workers to a doctor promptly after gas leaks. The plant emitted 0.9 million tonnes of CO2 in 2023, fuelling an ongoing political battle over whether to electrify the facility with power cables from shore.
Before the gas plant arrived, Melkøya was farmland and a base for seasonal fishermen. Major archaeological excavations in 2001 and 2002 preceded the construction. The development transformed the island completely, but nature found a way back: an endangered black-legged kittiwake colony adopted one of the facility's man-made cliffs as a nesting site, making it one of the largest kittiwake colonies in the world on a 50-billion-kroner industrial platform.
In September 2020, the plant nearly suffered a catastrophic explosion. Air intake filters on a gas turbine generator had not been changed since 2015; Equinor had switched from calendar-based to condition-based maintenance in 2016 but never established clear inspection routines. Accumulated insect biomass in the pre-filters lowered their auto-ignition temperature, and the filters caught fire. The six-hour blaze caused no injuries, but seawater used in firefighting destroyed over 180 kilometres of cabling. The Petroleum Safety Authority found serious regulatory breaches, and the plant was shut down for over two years, not reopening until June 2022.
The controversies did not end there. In 2025, workers began reporting gas leak incidents and safety failures. One worker spoke publicly for the first time about inhaling gas on the job, only to be removed from his position three hours later. A second whistleblower was also dismissed through the employment agency. Investigations revealed that Equinor had no procedure for getting exposed workers to a doctor promptly after gas leaks. The plant emitted 0.9 million tonnes of CO2 in 2023, fuelling an ongoing political battle over whether to electrify the facility with power cables from shore.