Williams Cos Inc on Oct. 9 delayed the return to service date for the Southeast Louisiana Lateral pipeline after an explosion and fire in Gibson, Louisiana, killed three workers on Oct. 8.

Williams spokesman Chris Stockton said the line was shut on Oct. 4 for planned maintenance and had been expected to return to service on Oct. 12 before the blast.

He said the return to service date was now "to be determined."

Before the maintenance outage, which shut the entire Southeast Louisiana Lateral, about 190 million cubic feet of gas per day flowed through the line. One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to meet the needs of about 10,000 U.S. homes for a year.

The pipeline gathers gas from the Gulf of Mexico and transports it onshore for processing, Stockton said.

The pipeline is owned by Williams Partners' Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Co (Transco).

Williams said service to customers was not interrupted because no gas was flowing through the pipeline at the time of the blast. The company said the pipeline did not rupture.

Personnel were performing maintenance on a piece of equipment in the station yard called a "slug catcher" which is used to collect hydrocarbon liquids and other impurities from the gas stream.

Three contractors performing the maintenance died and two others sustained serious injuries, Williams said in a statement.

The 13 Williams employees stationed at the facility have been accounted for and were not injured, the company said.

"We are deeply saddened by reports of serious injuries to personnel working at the scene. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families at this very critical time," said Warren Toups, Williams Operations Manager.

The building containing the compressor engines was not damaged, the company said.