A natural gas pipeline has exploded just outside Houston, Texas, according to authorities.
Fort Bend County officials confirmed that authorities responded to a pipeline explosion in the 15400 block of JoAnn near FM 1952, just west of Orchard.
Fort Bend Precinct One Constable Chad Norvell said in a Twitter post that there were no reports of casualties or building damages.
However, Norvell warned that it will “take some time to close the line and burn off.”
Residents were asked to stay away from the area, Click2Houston reported.
The news comes as America battles soaring energy costs amid nationwide shortages.
“There was an incident today in Fort Bend County on the Old Ocean Pipeline at approximately 11:15 am,” the local news outlet reported.
“Our control center immediately shut in the line and the area was secured.
“There were no injuries. By shutting in the line and isolating the impacted section of the pipeline line, the fire was allowed to safely burn itself out by 12:30 pm.
“All appropriate regulatory agencies have been notified.
“We will continue to provide updates as information becomes available.
“There will be an investigation into the cause of the incident.
“We will not have any information on that until the investigation is complete.”
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The constable’s office later reported that the fire, which happened west of the small city of Orchard, was now out.
Fort Bend fire officials had sent a hazmat team to the scene and asked that people to avoid the area.
No further information was immediately available.
Texas is the number one US state for crude oil and gas production, with fields dotted across much of its landscape.
Last year, the Lone Star state accounted for 43 per cent of the nation’s crude production and a quarter of marketed natural gas production, according to government data.
Texas is criss-crossed with 17,000 miles of pipelines which move natural gas from the state across the US and into Mexico.
