At least two people were injured in an explosion and fire at a West Texas gas plant operated by Anadarko Petroleum Thursday, according to reports.
Local media reported the blast also prompted evacuations from a 10-mile area around the plant, which is located near the town of Orla. Photos posted online after the explosion showed a huge cloud of smoke coming from the facility.
UPDATE: All gas lines coming in and out of the plant have been isolated and the fire has been “significantly diminished” and contained to one area of the plant, Anadarko spokeswoman Stephanie Moreland told Upstream.
“We will not know the cause, extent of the damage nor be able to estimate when the plant could safely resume operations until a full assessment can be conducted,” Moreland said.
But damage reports are starting to trickle in. Wire service Reuters reported damage to a pipeline operated by Transwestern that resulted in a spill of around 8600 barrels of natural gas liquids.
About 200 workers who were onsite at the time of the explosion were safe and accounted for, she added.
Anadarko said two people had been injured, while a local outlet said as many as four had been hurt. All accounts said the injuries were minor.
Anadarko’s master limited partnership, Western Gas Partners, acquired the plant as part of its $1.5 billion deal for Nuevo Midstream in 2014, according to Reuters.
At the time of the acquisition, the plant included a 300 million cubic feet per day cryogenic processing complex, with an additional 400 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity that was scheduled to be in service in 2015.