Lightning Sparks Fire at Massive US Fuel Depot on Key Pipeline System

Storage tanks at a massive US fuel depot caught fire after being struck by lightning, threatening supplies across one of the nation’s largest refined products pipeline systems.

Explorer Pipeline’s Glenpool tank farm outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was struck by lightning early Monday, igniting three tanks of natural gasoline, according to the company. Images posted on social media by the Tulsa Fire Department show flames sending large black clouds of smoke into the sky that were visible from inbound flights to Tulsa International Airport.

The Glenpool tank farm is a critical storage hub on Explorer’s 1,800 miles of pipeline that transports fuels like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel between the Midwest, Oklahoma and Texas. It can store some 3.4 million barrels of fuel across more than 30 tanks, according to a government report. Explorer’s southern system can ship 660,000 barrels of fuel each day, while it’s northern system extends as far as St. Louis and Chicago and can transport 450,000 barrels daily.

The fire will probably have at least a short-term impact on the tight US fuel market, with disruptions likely to flows at the major commodities transport hub. Americans are already paying on average more than $4 per gallon of gasoline and over $5 for a gallon of diesel, the most ever for this time of year.

Operations in and out of Glenpool have been shut, Explorer said Monday afternoon. The company confirmed that its operations outside of Glenpool haven’t been shuttered.

Phillips 66, which operates an adjacent facility that feeds into Glenpool, has halted operations. The Phillips 66 site hasn’t been damaged, and there is no impact to its nearby Wood River refinery.

Natural gasoline is a refined product derived from natural gas that’s used as an additive in gasoline. It’s also exported to Canada, where it is used as a diluent in the country’s heavy crude oil.