MOSS BLUFF EXPLOSION ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN:

New Blast of Burning Natural Gas in Liberty County Increases Fears

Residents are evacuated as plans are made to save remaining caverns

By Cindy Horswell

Published 5:30 am, Saturday, August 21, 2004

The Houston Chronicle

As hundreds fled the second blast of burning natural gas in two days, engineers huddled late Friday to stave off a threat of two adjacent underground storage caverns rupturing at Duke Energy's Moss Bluff facility east of Houston.

The second, even more spectacular eruption occurred about 1:15 a.m. Friday when intense heat and pressure collapsed the valves that capped the initial cavern that caught fire a day earlier.

No injuries were reported.

Burning gas shot 1,000 feet into the air, brightening the night sky and creating tremors that shook some residents from their beds.

The cavern, which initially held 6 billion cubic feet of natural gas, was expected to burn itself out today, authorities said.

Authorities valued the loss of gas that is needed to provide heat this winter at $36 million, noting similar quantities are stored in the two other caverns.

However, Texas Railroad Commissioner Charles Matthews said experts were concerned that when the ignited cavern is finally empty it could create a vacuum that would destabilize the walls of adjacent caverns.

"It's a risky business," Matthews said. "We want to make sure there is no penetration between the facilities and are meeting to work on the best way to solve the problem. We'll be nervous for a couple of days."

Gas is stored in the caverns under high pressure — 1,800 pounds per square inch. Usually when gas is removed from a cavern, it is replaced with saltwater to maintain the pressure inside, he said.

"The fire prevents us from immediately filling it with saltwater," Matthews said.

Duke Energy's project director, Charles Chabannes, said precautionary plans are being made to protect the integrity of the remaining caverns.

He said a solid wall of salt, 800 feet thick, separates the ignited cavern from its closest neighboring cavern. The third cavern has an even greater separation of 1,000 feet of salt.

The walls, which Chabannes described as "pretty strong," must hold until the fire is extinguished and the facility cooled sufficiently so that workers can pump in saltwater.

He said the process could take "several days."

Officials were also closely monitoring petrochemical pipelines that crisscross the Moss Bluff facility. Officials said they are keeping the area cooled so that the radiating heat does not rupture the lines two or three feet under ground.

Many residents within 20 miles of the fire could feel the shockwaves and see the glow from the second eruption.

"The sky lit up like the sun exploded," said Norris Pommier, an evacuee who lives 2 1/2 miles from the blast. "The sky lit up as bright as day. I didn't need a flashlight to find my way to a motel room."

City of Liberty firefighters were spraying 1,000 gallons of water a minute on an exposed tank and building not far from the ignited well when it erupted the second time.

"We didn't expect it," said Captain F. Collins.

Then, authorities said, high volumes of gas caused the fire to extinguish for 15 seconds, but the volatile fuel continued to flow, creating the most dangerous condition.

"We knew it would reignite sometime and that gas could be everywhere then. Everybody began to run," said Collins, who said the fire was so bright that he had to wear his sunglasses to see his way out.

The Moss Bluff facility stores gas in caverns washed from an underground salt formation off FM 563 near Liberty County's southern border.

A preliminary investigation targets a problem with an automatic shut-off valve, which the state requires as a safety precaution.

The shut-off valve detected a small leak and closed down as it is expected to do, but it slammed shut with such force that it knocked a hole in the piping, said Matthews.

"We still do not know what ignited the gas when it gushed out — an electric motor, lightning or what," he said.

Stacie Sowler, director of intergovernmental and public relations for the Railroad Commission, said the agency inspected Duke Energy's storage site in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003. The agency found no violations, she said.

Matthews said such massive fires at salt-dome caverns are rare.

He said violations uncovered after a 1995 propane fire outside Kilgore brought the largest fine in the history of the commission at that time.

"We will look at this case hard to see if any rules were violated. If not, we will also look to see if rules need to be improved," he said.

Meanwhile, Duke Energy provided motel rooms and will pay for meals for more than 300 evacuated residents.

Barbra Noble, who was staying in one of the motels, was not anxious to return home: "We only moved out there about 1 1/2 years ago. But this is like living in the middle of hell. I'm ready to move again."

Chronicle reporter L.M. Sixel contributed to this report.

cindy.horswell@chron.com

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