MOSCOW (MRC) -- A probe into safety practices at pipeline operator Williams Cos. is being expanded after a natural gas plant fire led to the evacuation of a town in Wyoming last month, the company’s third accident in a year, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
While it’s unclear if there are any broader issues, the string of incidents is "unusual", said Dan Tillema, a lead investigator at the US Chemical Safety Board, in an interview yesterday. "With a strong corporate oversight of process safety, it would be very unlikely to have three incidents like this in a 12-month period.'
Williams, operator of more than 26,000 miles (42,000 kilometers) of oil and gas pipelines, announced its own safety review this month, after an April 23 fire at a natural gas plant forced the evacuation of nearby Opal, Wyoming. That followed a March 31 explosion at a liquefied gas storage site in Plymouth, Washington, and a June 2013 blast at a Louisiana chemical plant that killed two workers and left 80 injured.
The safety board was already investigating the explosion in Geismar, Louisiana. The Washington, DC-based board has no power to impose penalties and instead makes recommendations to companies and industries to avoid future problems.
Williams is one of North America"s largest natural gas gatherers and processors. Williams also has a growing midstream business in Canada focused on processing oil sands off-gas into NGLs and olefins. It also has a domestic olefins business that provides customers in the petrochemical industry with a full suite of products and services.
MRC