Kinder Morgan Fire Likely Led to Methane Cloud Seen From Space

A methane cloud spotted over Alabama last month appears to have been caused by a natural-gas release following a fire at a Kinder Morgan Inc. compressor station, the pipeline giant said.

The flash fire was confined to a small area of its Gallion Compressor Station, according to Kinder Morgan spokesman Katherine Hill. Workers “followed standard safety protocols by performing an emergency shutdown of the compressor station, resulting in a controlled release of natural gas from the facility to help extinguish the fire.”

While deliberate releases during emergencies can limit damage and loss of life, the Kinder Morgan incident still spewed about 38,400 thousand cubic feet of gas — and ...