The liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plant at Hammerfest, a Barents Sea port some 2,000 kilometres from the North Pole, is now operating at 60 percent of its capacity, the company said in a statement.

The plant was shut down in early May due to a series of technical problems, primarily linked to the cooling system.

Damaged heat exchangers were repaired, modifications have been made to pipes and several metering instruments have been installed, the company said.

"After a record-quick start-up lasting less than nine hours and involving little flaring, the plant began producing liquefied natural gas on Thursday at about 60 percent of its design capacity," the statement said.

The shutdown was the latest in a string of problems at Snoehvit.

The first field to be exploited in the Barents Sea, the project is intended to secure the Norwegian company's place as a front-runner in the race to extract Arctic oil and gas riches that have become increasingly accessible due to new technologies and because of the effect of global warming on the polar ice cap.

But building an LNG plant based on brand-new technology in an unforgiving Arctic climate has proven more complicated and far more costly than expected.

The project came online last September, a year behind schedule, and has been plagued by technical problems that have forced it to shut down for extended periods.

A further shutdown is expected in the northern hemisphere autumn of 2009.

Environmentalists oppose further developments, arguing that the Arctic ecosystem is fragile.

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