Texas Gas Plant Fire Not Yet Under Control - Sheriff's Office

A fire at DCP Midstream Partners' East Texas Complex natural gas processing plant in Carthage, Tex., isn't yet under control, but no serious injuries have occurred and all plant workers have been accounted for, a dispatcher for the Panola County sheriff's department said Wednesday.

Melissa Poindexter, the dispatcher, said she didn't know the extent of damage to the plant. Part of U.S Route 79 has been shut down as a result of the fire and explosions, Poindexter said.

DCP Midstream Partners is a 50-50 joint venture between ConocoPhillips (COP) and Spectra Energy Corp. (SE). A spokeswoman for DCP wasn't immediately able to provide additional details on the fire.

The East Texas Complex plant, or ETX, is near the Louisiana border. The plant processes about 447 million cubic feet of natural gas a day, according to DCP Midstream.

Some of the gas processed at the ETX plant is delivered via Anadarko Petroleum (APC) gathering facilities in Panola County.

Natural gas futures rose following reports of the fire. Nymex natural gas for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading 7.4 cents, or 1.63%, higher at $4.617 a million British thermal units Wednesday afternoon.

-By Christine Buurma, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2061; [e-mail]