By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 18 -- A gas pipeline leak, not a boiler malfunction, was officially deemed the cause of an explosion last month at the Skikda, Algeria, LNG complex, Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil told newsmen at a mining and environment seminar this week.
OPEC News Agency reported Wednesday that Khelil said the failed gas pipeline was the preliminary conclusion of an inter-ministerial commission of inquiry that had been set up to investigate the Jan. 20 explosion. The blast killed 27 people, injured 74 others, destroyed three of the six LNG trains at the complex, and heavily damaged a nearby berth for loading LNG tankers. Officials at Sonatrach, Algeria's state-owned oil and gas company, initially had blamed a faulty boiler for the explosion (OGJ Online, Jan. 20, 2004).
Sonatrach officials, as well as an insurance company and foreign experts are assisting the commission, which Khelil said would release the final report in about three months, OPECNA reported.
The blast caused worldwide repercussions for planned and existing LNG projects, as sponsors rushed to reassure neighboring populations and investors of the safety of their facilities (OGJ Online, Jan. 27, 2004).
