A house in the vicinity of an underground storage of LPG in saline cavities exploded because leaking gas (70% ethane, 30% propane) had accumulated in its foundation (the gas cloud ignited as a result of a spark from an electrical appliance). In the days that followed, gas appeared haphazardly around the area, and approximately 50 families had to be evacuated.

The well casing (built in 1958) leaked at a joint between two lengths and the product escaped toward the caprock and migrated into the house basement. A drop in pressure had been recorded on September 17, 1980, in one of the cavities containing liquefied petroleum gas. The cavity in which the pressure had dropped was then filled with brine. Holes were drilled into the water tables above the salt to find and vent the gas.

Experts underline that architecture of the well is of utmost importance. Had the two last cemented casing been anchored in the salt formation, the leak would have been channeled in the cemented annular space between the two casings, with considerably smaller consequences.

Another explosion and fire occurred at the storage complex in November 1985 (because of corrosion), killing two people and prompting the evacuation of the entire town’s population of more than 2,000 residents. Yet another fire and explosion occurred at the Mont Belvieu storage complex in October 1984 that caused several million dollars in property damage.

Texas authorities reinforced the regulation in 1982 regarding cavern integrity testing. In 1993, it was acted that future wells should be equipped with two casing strings cemented into the salt.