Energy Transfer Gas Rupture Caps Missouri Mainline Capacity

(Bloomberg) -- The fiery rupture of a natural gas pipeline that lit up the early-morning sky in Missouri on Sunday will limit capacity of the Panhandle Eastern pipeline while repairs are being done, Energy Transfer LP said in a notice.

Nominations to the main-line conduit will be held to 1.125 million British Thermal Units per day, according to the notice. The rupture occurred north of Mexico, Missouri, about 120 miles (193 km) from St. Louis. It didn’t cause serious injuries, but did interrupt power to several homes, the Audrain County Sheriff’s Office noted in a Facebook post.

A spokesman for Energy Transfer did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The rupture took place downstream from the Centralia Compressor Station. The resulting fire was extinguished after about 40 minutes, the sheriff’s office reported.

The incident is yet another bump in the road for billionaire Kelcy Warren’s Energy Transfer, whose shares have languished amid numerous legal and political challenges.

In addition to wide-spread opposition to its Dakota Access oil pipeline, the pipeline giant has seen regulatory and legal challenges to its Rover natural gas conduit and the Mariner East 2 gas-byproducts line, as well as construction delays on its Bayou Bridge oil line in Louisiana. In September, the company also had a fire on a gas gathering line in Pennsylvania that led to the evacuation of nearby homes.

--With assistance from Rachel Adams-Heard.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Brody in Washington at btenerellabr@bloomberg.net;Austin Weinstein in New York at aweinstein18@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Reg Gale, Joe Carroll

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