West Virginia Pipeline Blast Burned 23,901 Barrels of Ethane

A federal agency says a pipeline explosion in Brooke County, W.Va., burned more than 23,000 barrels of ethane and scorched about 5 acres.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration says in an order that the 20-inch ATEX Express pipeline failed near a section that had been welded together. The actual cause hasn’t been determined.

When the pipeline is restarted, the agency says its operating pressure can’t exceed 80 percent of the pressure in effect when the failure occurred.

Media outlets report that the agency issued the order last week.

The Jan. 26 explosion east of Follansbee sent flames shooting several hundred feet into the air. The federal agency says 23,901 barrels of ethane was burned.

The pipeline is operated by Enterprise Products.