Less than two weeks after the deadly explosion on El PasoNatural Gas’ system in southeastern New Mexico, the pipeline onFriday had more than 700 MMcf/d of capacity restored to its SouthMainline, which is designed to feed a total of 1.1 Bcf/d to marketsbetween Texas and California.

At mid-day Friday (Mountain time), El Paso said it began runningabout 260 MMcf/d through Line 1100 after it received the go-aheadfrom the federal Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), according tocompany spokeswoman Kim Wallace. El Paso was able to re-startpartial service on the 26-inch line after it built a 16-inchtemporary connector line between Line 1110 and Line 1100, which wasapproved by OPS.

The temporary connector was installed just east of the PecosRiver explosion site, about 30 miles from Carlsbad, NM. Wallacesaid Line 1100 would carry the gas from Eunice, NM, just Northeastof the Pecos River Compressor Station, to the connector with Line1110, which then would transport it westward across the Pecos RiverBridge where it would meet up with Line 1100 further downstream.Meanwhile, Wallace said El Paso submitted to OPS last week the testresults and a preliminary return-to-service plan for Line 1100.

Three days prior, the OPS had given El Paso permission torestore service to parallel Line 1110 from the Keystone Stationthrough the Pecos River Compressor Station at a reduced level. Thepipeline re-opened the line at about 400 MMcf/d, and graduallyincreased it to 480 MMcf/d by Friday. This is “still within thelimits it [OPS] set” for Line 1110, Wallace said.

The OPS restricted El Paso’s Line 1110 to 80% of the operatingpressure of Line 1103 at the time it ruptured, according toDepartment of Transportation Spokeswoman Debbie Hinz. She said thisput the line at a pressure of about 538 pounds per square inch.

The OPS-ordered shutdown of Line 1110 lasted 10 days, duringwhich the agency ordered El Paso to conduct extensive hydrostatic,ultrasound and X-ray tests to determine their safety, and to submita plan for restoring service to the line.

As for the future of Line 1103, which is the line that ruptured,Wallace said repairs on it would not begin until after theinvestigation of the explosion is completed, which will “probablybe nine to 12 months.”

The restoration of service couldn’t come soon enough for El Pasocustomers who have been scrambling for transportation capacity eversince federal investigators and regulators closed down the threelines that make up El Paso’s South Main leg in the wake of theblast that killed 11 people and critically injured one. El Paso andsome of its California customers have been using gas from storageto meet their gas needs during the service interruption. TheDepartment of Energy has set up a task force to evaluate theeffects of the explosion and shutdown on the gas market.

As service was being re-started on the disabled lines,California border prices began falling last week. When the OPSfirst announced the shutdown of the three lines on El Paso SouthMainline in late August, Southern California border basis got ashigh as plus 260-65, putting some fixed prices in the $7.20s. Butwith the resumption of partial service on Line 1110 last week, theprice slid back down. NGI’s Southern California Border Index forSeptember was $6.31/MMBtu.

Meanwhile, the fallout from the deadly Aug. 19 explosion lastweek was building nationwide and is likely to intensify.

All eyes will be on Congress this week as it returns from itsAugust recess to see what it will do with the pipeline safetyreauthorization bills pending before it. Many observers, includingpipeline officials, believe lawmakers will move to put even moreteeth in the legislation in the wake of what is being called thedeadliest gas pipeline explosion in more than a decade, and willpass a bill before they adjourn for the year.

Last week, the OPS issued an industry-wide bulletin advisingoperators and owners of gas transmission pipelines to review theirmonitoring programs and operations for detecting the presence ofinternal corrosion on their systems. The OPS took this action afterit and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said theyhad found corrosion inside the El Paso South Mainline pipeline(Line 1103) that ruptured.

Also, the first civil lawsuit was brought against El PasoNatural Gas last week, accusing the pipeline of negligence infailing to properly maintain and operate its system. The suit seeksundetermined damages.

As for the advisory bulletin, the OPS said its review ofincident reports and inspections “indicated that better industryguidance is needed to determine the best practices for monitoringthe potential for internal corrosion in operator pipelines.”

It advised gas pipelines to refer to the recommendedcorrosion-monitoring practices of the national consensus standardsorganizations, including the American Petroleum Institute, theNational Association of Corrosion Engineers, and the Gas PipingTechnology Committee (GPTC). The OPS said that the GPTC isconsidering modifying its “Guide for Gas Transmission andDistribution Piping Systems” to address design considerations,corrective measures and detection techniques for internalcorrosion.

It recommended that gas pipelines give “special attention” to anumber of specific conditions, including flow characteristics, pipelocation (especially drips, deadlegs and sags, which are on-linesegments that are not cleaned by pigging or other methods),fittings and/or “stabbed” connections which could affect gas flow,operating temperature and pressure, water content, carbon dioxideand hydrogen sulfide content, carbon dioxide partial pressure,presence of oxygen and/or bacteria, and sediment deposits.

The OPS further urged gas pipelines to focus their review onsegments downstream of gas production and storage fields, where itsaid corrosive elements most often accumulate. Also, “reviewconditions in pipeline segments with low spots, sharp bends, suddendiameter changes, and fittings that restrict flow or velocity, andsegments in unusual terrain. These features can contribute to theformation of internal corrosion by allowing condensates to settleof the gas stream.”

But industry downplayed the incidence of internal corrosion inpipelines. Internal corrosion on large-diameter, long-distancepipelines is rare, according to an “Analysis of Internal CorrosionIncidents” issued by the Interstate Natural Gas Association ofAmerica (INGAA).

The consulting firm Kiefner & Associates reports that of1,376 total incidents on transmission and gathering pipelines filedwith the OPS since July 1984, only 180 incidents (13.1%) werecaused by internal corrosion, the INGAA analysis said. Of those, 18(1.3%) occurred on long-distance pipelines of 24 inches or more indiameter, and there were no injuries or fatalities.

El Paso has had 40 ruptures on its pipeline system since 1984,many of which were due to third-party damage and only a few tocorrosion, according to DOT’s Hinz. Prior to 1984, an explosion in1975 on El Paso led to three fatalities, and another fatality wasreported in a 1973 incident, she said. The cause of the 1975incident was internal corrosion, according to DOT, while the 1973blast was due to a leak in a valve.

Last Tuesday, Jennifer Smith, a Carlsbad, NM, resident, filed awrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque onbehalf of her husband, Bobby Earl Smith, who died two days afterthe Aug. 19 blast in a Lubbock, TX, hospital.

Others who died as a result of the explosion on El Paso’s SouthMainline were Bobby Smith’s two adult children, a son-in-law, fivegrandchildren and his daughter-in-law’s parents. The sole survivoris his daughter-in-law, Amanda Smith, 25. She remains in criticalcondition at the University Medical Center in Lubbock. Funerals forthe dead were held last weekend.

The 11 victims were “picnicking, fishing and recreating in alawful manner in an area adjacent to the El Paso pipeline” when oneof three lines that make up El Paso’s South Mainline ruptured,causing the explosion and fireball, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit seeks undetermined damages for “personal injury andwrongful death,” and punitive damages from “El Paso, their agents,employees and representatives” for their “willful, wanton andcareless conduct and utter disregard and utter indifference in thismatter,” and to “deter and punish the defendant in the future.”

Although the lawsuit names El Paso as the sole defendant now, itcould be expanded in the future. “I think as the investigationproceeds and further acts of negligence are uncovered, thatcertainly could open the door for additional defendants to benamed, and those defendants might be corporate defendants,” said alawyer close to the lawsuit.

There is no criminal investigation into the accident at thistime. “I think that is very preliminary…..There could becircumstances which one would personally feel that criminal actionsmight be necessary. I don’t know if it would be appropriate underthe law, and I certainly don’t think it’s appropriate at this time.But when something this horrible happens…..you really think alongthose lines,” the lawyer noted.

Nor is OPS considering a fine against El Paso at this time, asit did with Olympic Pipeline in the Bellingham, WA, explosion thatkilled three. “I have not heard a word about it. That doesn’t meanit would never happen,” said DOT’s Hinz.

Specifically, the civil lawsuit accuses El Paso of failing to”properly comply with state and federal rules, regulations,opinions and orders while operating an interstate gas transmissionline” at or near Carlsbad.

Moreover, it said El Paso “was negligent in failing to properlyinspect, maintain and operate their interstate gas transmissionline at all times.” The transmission of natural gas “is anultra-hazardous activity and undertaking,” the lawsuit noted,adding that El Paso’s failure to provide “the highest degree ofcare and…..safety” to persons in the vicinity of its system makesit “strictly liable” to Bobby Smith and the others who died or wereinjured as a result of the explosion.

The lawsuit is being handled by two law firms: The Branch LawFirm in Albuquerque, NM, and Baker, Brown & Dixon in Arlington,TX.

Susan Parker

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