An explosion and fire were reported to erupt at Lone Star NGL’s fractionation and storage facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas, late Wednesday. Energy Transfer, the parent company of Lone Star, stated in a local media report that the explosion erupted at about 5:45 PM ET after a contractor at the site struck an underground pipeline. The company confirmed that the area is secure with no injuries or evacuations.
The explosion occurred at a facility on West Winfree Street site, according to a Mont Belvieu city police report. The Mont Belvieu fire department and Energy Transfer’s fire team are working to contain the fire. Mont Belvieu communications director Brian Ligon said the fire was still burning but diminished as of 7:27 PM ET.
The Mont Belvieu facility can store up to 50 million barrels of natural gas liquids (NGLs). It is equipped with pipelines which transmit natural gas from wellheads around the country to export docks. The site has a total fractionation capacity of 790,000 bpd. Fractionation refers to a process to separate raw mixed NGLs into ethane, propane, butane and natural gasoline.
