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March 23, 2005 3:45 PM, EST

An explosion at a BP petrochemical plant near Houston Wednesday temporarily closed the Houston Ship Channel and sent gasoline prices spiking, news services reported.

The Associated Press said BP's Texas City plant is the third largest refinery in the U.S. with 30 refinery units. The plant processes 460 million barrels of crude oil every day, producing 3% of the U.S. gasoline supply. It employs about 2,000 people.

CNBC reported that in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, the price of gasoline futures spiked over the closing $1.57 a gallon to $1.6015 in afterhours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Houston Ship Channel is a 53-mile long canal connecting the Port of Houston with the Gulf of Mexico. The fire closed the channel temporarily but it reopened several hours later, the Houston Chronicle reported.

There were reports of at least 10 injuries and four fatalities resulting from the blast, AP said, but the cause of the blast was not immediately known.