Second Moss Bluff explosion accesses 6 bcf of gas in cavern, feeds larger fire

Judy Clark
Associate Editor

HOUSTON, Aug. 20 -- About 6 bcf of natural gas stored in Cavern No.1 at the Moss Bluff salt cavern natural gas storage facility near Houston is now feeding a fire that has been burning since 4 a.m. Thursday following an explosion at the site (OGJ Online, Aug. 19, 2004).

The intense heat of the fire caused an aboveground valve assembly to give way at 1:30 a.m. Friday, resulting in an even greater release of gas—this time from the cavern itself—and a fireball that shot to 1,000 ft from 100 ft following the explosion. Prior to the valve loss the fire had been fueled only by gas in aboveground piping and infrastructure, said facility owners Duke Energy Market Hub Partners.

Residents within a 3 mile radius of the site were being evacuated early Friday. The company said it has accounted for all personnel, and no injuries have been reported.

The fire, which is too hot to approach, could burn "until early Saturday," said Duke, unless oil and gas fire specialists Boots & Coots International Well Control, which has been onsite since Thursday, can extinquish it before then.

"The increased release of gas should speed the burn-off and reduce the duration of the fire," Duke said in a release.

Cavern No.1, which has a storage capacity of 8.7 bcf of natural gas, contained 6 bcf at the time of the Thursday explosion, the cause of which has not yet been determined. The cavern had been closed off since the fire started Thursday.

The two other storage caverns on the site did not appear to be threatened, Duke said, although service to Moss Bluff storage customers has been suspended. The site provides natural gas producers and shippers with about 16 bcf of storage.

Curtailed gas deliveries
The effects of temporarily taking 8.7 bcf of storage out of service has not yet been determined, although gas previously slated for storage must now be shut in, put on the spot market and rerouted to alternate pipelines for use, or stored elsewhere.

The facility has been isolated since Thursday from five pipelines, which have remained in operation, pipeline operator Duke Energy Gas Transmission said. The lines connect to Duke Energy's Texas Eastern Transmission Co. pipeline to the northeastern US, Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission Co.'s Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America pipeline to Chicago, and to pipelines owned by Channel Industries Inc., Midcon Texas Pipeline Corp., and Tejas Gas Transmission LLC that serve Texas customers.

Financial losses related to actual facilities damage and gas loss cannot be assessed until the fire is out, Duke said, at which time a better estimate could be given as to when the facility could be back in service.