More than three months after Hurricane Ike severed a natural gas pipeline that was part of the company’s High Island Offshore System (HIOS), Enterprise Products Partners LP said Tuesday repairs have been completed and the company has been given permission to resume full service on HIOS.

The 42-inch diameter segment of the HIOS system — which transports gas from fields in the western Gulf of Mexico — was severed approximately 130 feet under water during Ike in September. Since then, gas volumes into the system have been limited to certain receipt points upstream of the break and required third-party pipeline systems for delivery to onshore facilities.

Enterprise said Tuesday federal regulators, after approving Enterprise’s inspection and start-up procedures, authorized the partnership to resume full service. The pipeline has the capacity to transport up to 1.8 Bcf/d.

“Customers and investors alike can feel confident that our personnel expedited the repair process and managed the asset following the storm as professionally and efficiently as possible,” said Enterprise CEO Michael A. Creel. “Our ability to make limited deliveries while repairs were being made to the damaged portion of the system is typical of the flexibility built into our offshore infrastructure.”

HIOS, which is owned by an affiliate of Enterprise, consists of a 291-mile pipeline system that transports gas from fields in the Galveston, Garden Banks, West Cameron, High Island and East Breaks areas of the Gulf of Mexico to third-party pipeline systems. HIOS also includes eight pipeline junction and service platforms.

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