Deficiency

A Boston-based high-tech firm, Core Security Technologies, claimed Wednesday to have discovered a deficiency in key software used by natural gas pipelines and other utility operations that could make them vulnerable to hackers. Core Security representatives described the potential security problem to the Associated Press, which released a wire report on the firm’s allegations.

Northwest ended on Wednesday morning a Declared Deficiency Period that it had issued late Tuesday afternoon in connection with emergency repairs to the #2 unit at La Plata Compressor Station. Northwest had said it would cut scheduled volumes through the station to 250,000 Dth/d in the Intraday 2 nominations process for Tuesday’s gas day, but would wait until the Intraday 2 process Wednesday before cutting volumes scheduled for that gas day in the hope that repairs could be completed by midday.

Northwest reminded customers of the potential for an OFO and/or Deficiency Period due to maintenance scheduled for June 5-7 in the mainline corridor between the Cisco and La Plata B compressor stations. See the bulletin board for a summary of the contracted, design and available capacity volumes during this outage for La Plata B (southbound), Moab Compressor Station (southbound) and Pleasant View Compressor Station (southbound). If Primary Firm nomination requests exceed the design capacity at these points during the outage, an OFO will be issued, Northwest said.

Northwest notified shippers Tuesday of a Declared Deficiency Period at the Green River South constraint point that it said could last through Thursday. Northwest had scheduled installation of pigging facilities on a section of the mainline near Green River South to begin Tuesday (see Daily GPI, July 20), and during the outage operational capacity through the constraint point is zero.

Northwest gave customers notice of a Declared Deficiency Period that began Thursday and will run through Tuesday because of the Durango class location hydrotest that will be performed during that period. During the hydrotest, the available capacity at the Durango (CO) Maintenance Cut point (La Plata B Compressor Station southbound flow) will be zero; design capacity of the point is 349,000 Dth/d. The test “is necessary to continue reliable service in the future for this area,” Northwest said.

Northwest said late Monday that it expects a Declared Deficiency Period for a segment near the Foundation Creek Compressor Station for Friday’s gas day. It referred to the DDP tariff definition posted last week (see Daily GPI, Aug. 23 ). Northwest will perform several cutouts Friday near Foundation Creek, which will take the mainline out of service for approximately 24 hours from milepost 247 to milepost 263. Nominations at Sand Springs, Dragon Trail, West Douglas, Foundation Creek Plant and Foundation Creek Fuel will be cut to zero.

Northwest said it expects a Declared Deficiency Period to be in effect at milepost 240 near Grand Junction, CO for next Tuesday’s gas day. The pipeline’s tariff defines a DDP as beginning “on the day when aggregate nominations using constraint point firm rights exceed constraint point actual capacity and Transporter is unable to schedule otherwise acceptable nominations due to scheduled or unscheduled maintenance.” Northwest will be replacing pipe for about 30 hours Tuesday at anomaly locations identified in a recent pigging project. There will be no mainline flow between milepost 232 and milepost 240 during the work. Similar projects are planned for Aug. 30 and Sept. 4 (see Daily GPI, Aug. 21).