Explosion at Williams Gas Plant in Opal
April 23, 2014
On Wednesday, April 23, an explosion was reported at the Williams natural gas plant in Opal, Wyoming. Updates reporting fire and explosion in the Opal Plant’s TXP-3 cryogenic processing tower. Evacuees being taken to Little America for registration and lodging. Concerned family/friends can call 1-307-875-2400 to see if loved ones are lodged there. Traffic on US 30 and WYO 240 being diverted to port of entry. Opal residents are being evacuated. WilliamsLP reporting no injuries and everyone accounted for. Sweetwaternow.com has updated coverage and links to photos: More info here
UPDATE 5:05 p.m. WyoRadio has posted a gallery of photos taken by Rachel Anderson of the explosion click here to view them: http://www.sweetwaternow.com/breaking-williams-gas-opal-suffers-explosion/
UPDATE 4:46 p.m. According to Michele Swaner with WilliamsLP the company believes that fire and explosion occurred in the Opal Plant’s TXP-3 cryogenic processing tower.
UPDATE 4:29 p.m. – According to the management of Little America as evacuees arrive they will be registered and friends and family can call 1-307-875-2400 to see if loved ones are lodged there. Staff said no evacuees have arrived yet but are expected soon.
UPDATE 3:50 p.m. — WYDOT has closed US 30 and WYO Highway 240. Traffic is being diverted to the port of entry. And Opal residents are being evacuated.
UPDATE 3:40 p.m. — Sweetwater County Emergency Management Director Dave Johnson said that Lincoln County has not asked for outside resources yet.
WILLIAMS GAS PLANT FIRE UPDATE: Wednesday, April 23, 8:30PM, Williams LP reports that all employees are accounted for and there were no injuries in the explosion and fire at their natural gas processing facility near Opal, Wyoming (Lincoln County) around 2PM this afternoon. The facility was immediately shut down and emergency procedures were activated. All personnel were safely evacuated from the facility. Williams is making accommodations for the displaced residents. Traffic on US 30 and WYO 240 being diverted to port of entry. Opal residents are being evacuated. WilliamsLP reporting no injuries and everyone accounted for. Sweetwaternow.com has updated coverage and links to photos: More info here
WILLIAMS GAS PLANT FIRE UPDATE: Thursday, April 24, 9:00AM, Williams LP reports that all employees are accounted for and there were no injuries in the explosion and fire at their natural gas processing facility near Opal, Wyoming (Lincoln County) around 2PM yesterday afternoon. The facility was immediately shut down and emergency procedures were activated. All personnel were safely evacuated from the facility and residents in nearby small town of Opal were evacuated to temporary lodging. The fire is being allowed to burn itself out. Traffic on US 30 and WYO 240 being diverted. Sweetwaternow.com has updated coverage and links to photos: Williams gas Opal plant explosion. KSL News (Salt Lake) has video coverage here. See related story below for news release from WilliamsLP.
WILLIAMS GAS PLANT FIRE UPDATE: Thursday, April 24, 7:30PM, The evacuation order has reportedly been lifted for Opal residents to be allowed to return to their homes after an explosion and fire at a nearby Williams LP natural gas processing facility around 2PM on Wednesday, April 23rd. There were no injuries as a result of the blast The gas supply was immediately shut down and emergency procedures were activated. Residual gas in the lines is being allowed to burn off. The cause of the explosion is still unknown. Investigators will examine the evidence at the plant once it is safe to return to the facility. See related story below for news release from WilliamsLP. Click on this link for an article by the Wyoming Business Report: Opal explosion evacuation order lifted.
KSL video news reports Salt Lake City news, Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Opal explosion evacuation order lifted
Media release from Williams Partners regarding Opal gas plant explosion and fire
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Williams Partners Shuts Down Opal., Wyo., Gas Processing Facility After Explosion and Fire; No Injuries
Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ) and Williams (NYSE:WMB) reported an explosion and fire at approximately 2 p.m. Mountain Time at their natural gas processing facility in Lincoln County, Wyo., near the town of Opal. There were no reported injuries or damage to property outside the facility.
The facility was immediately shut down and emergency procedures were activated. All personnel were safely evacuated from the facility. First-responders evacuated an area that includes the town of Opal and closed Highway 30 in proximity to the plant. Williams is making accommodations for the displaced residents.
The company's top priority right now is ensuring the safety of our employees and surrounding community, as well as cooperating with the local authorities and regulatory agencies.
Natural-gas gathering from surrounding producing areas is temporarily suspended as a result of the incident. The company is evaluating alternatives so that natural gas production can resume as soon as possible.
The Opal facility processes natural gas gathered from wells in the area in preparation for interstate natural gas pipeline transport. It also produces natural gas liquids from the natural gas. The Opal plant has an inlet capacity of 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Recent daily volumes have been approximately 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
The incident is known to have affected TXP-3, one of the five cryogenic processing trains that comprise the Opal facility. It is too early to determine the extent of damage to the facility or a timeline for return to service. Once it is safe to return to the plant, Williams will conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the incident in cooperation with regulators.
About Williams (NYSE: WMB)
Williams is one of the leading energy infrastructure companies in North America. It owns interests in or operates 15,000 miles of interstate gas pipelines, 1,000 miles of NGL transportation pipelines, and more than 10,000 miles of oil and gas gathering pipelines. The company's facilities have daily gas processing capacity of 6.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas, NGL production of more than 200,000 barrels per day and domestic olefins production capacity of 1.35 billion pounds of ethylene and 90 million pounds of propylene per year. Williams owns approximately 66 percent of Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ), one of the largest diversified energy master limited partnerships. Williams Partners owns most of Williams' interstate gas pipeline and domestic midstream assets. Williams also owns Canadian operations and certain domestic olefins pipelines assets, as well as a significant investment in Access Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE: ACMP), a midstream natural gas services provider. The company's headquarters is in Tulsa, Okla. For more information, visit www.williams.com, where the company routinely posts important information
About Williams Partners L.P. (NYSE: WPZ)
Williams Partners L.P. is a leading diversified master limited partnership focused on natural gas transportation; gathering, treating, and processing; storage; natural gas liquid (NGL) fractionation; and oil transportation. The partnership owns interests in three major interstate natural gas pipelines that, combined, deliver 14 percent of the natural gas consumed in the United States. The partnership's gathering and processing assets include large-scale operations in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and both onshore and offshore along the Gulf of Mexico. Williams (NYSE: WMB) owns approximately 66 percent of Williams Partners, including the general-partner interest. More information is available at www.williamslp.com, where the partnership routinely posts important information.
Portions of this document may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined by federal law. Although the company believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. Any such statements are made in reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in the company's annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Williams Partners
Media Contact:
Tom Droege, 918-573-4034
or
Investor Contacts:
John Porter, 918-573-0797
or
Sharna Reingold, 918-573-2078
Source: http://www.williamslp.com/profiles/investor/ResLibraryView.asp?ResLibraryID=69554&BzID=1296&g=345&Nav=0&LangID=1&s=0
Related Links:
Williams Gas in Opal suffers explosion; Town evacuated www.sweetwaternow.com
KSL video news reports Salt Lake City news, Wednesday, April 23, 2014
WILLIAMS GAS PLANT FIRE UPDATE: Friday, April 25, 8:30AM. According to official sources, local gas companies had to do some work-arounds, but nothing has changed in gas flows out of Sublette County as a result of the explosion and fire at a Williams LP natural gas processing facility near Opal, Wyoming on Wednesday, April 23rd. According to the Wyoming Business Report, the Williams facility is set apart enough that other trading through the Opal hub monitored by officials and industry insiders for spot pricing has been undisturbed. There were no injuries as a result of the blast and the cause has not yet been determined. Residents of Opal who were evacuated were allowed to return to their homes yesterday. See related story and links below for more details. More info here: Opal explosion evacuation order lifted.
According to the Wyoming Business Report, the Williams facility is set apart enough that other trading through the Opal hub monitored by officials and industry insiders for spot pricing has been undisturbed.
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