By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, May 1 -- Williams said Tuesday afternoon a fire that resulted from a rupture on a pipeline north of Kansas City, Mo., was under control and essentially out.
No injuries resulted from the line break, which occurred in a rural setting between Platte City, Mo., and Weston, Mo., on a 10-in. section of the Mid-America Pipeline that carries ethane and propane from Conway, Kan., into Iowa City, Iowa, and central Illinois.
The pipeline, built in 1970, is owned and operated by Mid-America Pipeline Co., which is a subsidiary of Williams, Tulsa.
The company's Tulsa operations control center, which monitors line flow and pumping pressures, detected a low-pressure alarm around noon Tuesday. The company began shutting down pumps and closing block valves to isolate a 10.5 mile segment of line.
More than 20 pipeline workers and maintenance contractors were on site, preparing to investigate and examine the pipe for repairs. The cause of the line break was not known late Tuesday.
Williams' spokesman Kelly Swan said, "The situation is under control and there is no threat to nearby communities or the environment. We're still not sure what caused the line break, but the line has actively been maintained and was internally inspected in 1995 using a high-tech, high-resolution instrument that checks for anything out of the ordinary.''
