Centrica rallies as gas prices rise on Austrian plant explosion, Forties pipeline closure

British Gas owner Centrica was the standout gainer on the FTSE 100 on Tuesday as gas prices surged after an explosion at a natural gas facility near Austria's border with Slovakia and as Britain's Forties pipeline - which carries 40% of North Sea oil and gas - was closed for repair due to a crack.

According to reports, an explosion at the Baumgarten facility, Austria's largest import terminal for gas and one of Europe's most important gas supply hubs, has killed at least one person and left 18 injured. Local police said a "technical cause" was to blame for the explosion, but no further details were given.

Meanwhile, the closure of the Forties pipeline, which carries 450,000 barrels per day of crude from the North Sea to the Kinneil processing terminal in Scotland, was also pushing up gas and oil prices. The pipeline has been operating at reduced capacity since 7 December.

The owner of the pipeline, Ineos, said on Monday that it discovered a small hairline crack in the pipe at Red Moss near Netherley, just south of Aberdeen, during a routine inspection last week.

"A repair and oil spill response team was mobilised on Wednesday, December 6, after a very small amount of oil seepage was reported. Measures to contain the seepage were put in place, no oil has been detected entering the environment and the pipe has been continuously monitored.

"A 300 metre cordon was set-up and a small number of local residents were placed in temporary accommodation as precautionary measure.

"The pipeline pressure was reduced while a full assessment of the situation was made.

"Despite reducing the pressure the crack has extended, and as a consequence the Incident Management Team has now decided that a controlled shutdown of the pipeline is the safest way to proceed."

At 1150 GMT, Centrica shares were up 2.8% to 145.50p.