Gas markets in flux after Mississippi plant explosion

Enterprise Products Partners said it closed down a gas facility in Mississippi after a fire erupted earlier this week within the confines of the plant.

Police in Pascagoula, Miss., notified residents that an explosion at an Enterprise gas facility was confined to the immediate area. No evacuations were ordered and no injuries were reported.

Enterprise, which has headquarters in Houston, in a statement issued late Tuesday said the explosion was contained within the facility.

"The situation is under control and the plant has been shut down," it said in a statement. "Enterprise personnel have been working closely with local emergency responders and the company has notified all appropriate regulatory authorities."

The plant receives natural gas from a string of regional third-party pipelines and was receiving about 400 million cubic feet per day. The company, which took ownership of the plant from BP earlier this year, said it was working with its customers to determine the best options while the facility remains offline.

Gas deliveries come primarily from the Destine pipeline in Mississippi tied to offshore production facilities. According to a statement emailed from Jeff Moore, a senior analyst with Platts Analytics, the net market impact would be about half of receiving volume for Enterprise as customers reroute their supplies to other processing plants in the area.

There were no further announcements from city officials on the incident.