Explosion

Spectra Energy Corp. officials on Tuesday said a confluence of factors led to the April explosion of its Texas Eastern Transmission LP (Tetco) pipeline in Southwest Pennsylvania, mainly attributing the blast to significant corrosion that has changed the way it will inspect pipes going forward.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) was found guilty by a federal jury in San Francisco on Tuesday on five of 11 counts of violating natural gas pipeline safety regulations related to the September 2010 San Bruno natural gas transmission pipeline explosion that killed eight people (see Daily GPI, Sept. 13, 2010).

Rerouting Gulf of Mexico subsea systems, including an assist by Williams, is offering alternative transit for most of the natural gas and liquids carried by Destin Pipeline that were shut in by the Pascagoula Gas Plant (PGP) explosion late last month.

Full service on Texas Eastern Transmission’s (Tetco) Penn-Jersey pipeline system, which runs from Delmont, PA, to Lambertville, NJ, might not be restored until November after an April explosion and fire on a portion of the system in Westmoreland County, PA, has its owners concerned about safety.

Offshore natural gas producers in the Gulf of Mexico that rely on the Destin Pipeline to transport supplies to the U.S. onshore were looking for alternative routes following an explosion that shuttered Enterprise Products Partners LP’s Pascagoula gas processing plant in Mississippi.

Full service on Texas Eastern Transmission’s (Tetco) Penn-Jersey pipeline system, which runs from Delmont, PA, to Lambertville, NJ, might not be restored until November after an April explosion and fire on a portion of the system in Westmoreland County, PA, has its owners concerned about safety.

More than a month after a massive explosion in Southwest Pennsylvania knocked out service on a portion of Texas Eastern’s (Tetco) Penn-Jersey Line in the M3 Zone, three pipelines still remain shut-in, limiting flows east of the Delmont Compressor station.

More than a month after a massive explosion in Southwest Pennsylvania knocked out service on a portion of Texas Eastern’s (Tetco) Penn-Jersey Line in the M3 Zone, three pipelines still remain shut-in, limiting flows east of the Delmont Compressor station.

In its latest update about the explosion and fire onTexas Eastern pipeline’s Penn-Jersey line in the M3 Zone,Spectra Energy Corp. said work is progressing to restore capacity through the Delmont compressor station. The blast in Southwest Pennsylvania caused serious property damage and sent one resident to the hospital (see Shale Daily, April 29). After the explosion, flows beginning at the Delmont compressor — the western boundary of the M3 zone — were cut to zero, with flows affected eastward. About 1 Bcf/d of natural gas flows on the system have been cut (see Shale Daily, May 2). Spectra said in an update that some capacity through the compressor could be available this week. The company said it continues to work with federal regulators investigating the incident. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued a corrective action order to the company requiring it to determine the cause of the incident and ensure the safety of three pipelines that run parallel to the one that ruptured. The cause remains unclear, but PHMSA indicated in its order that corrosion was the likely cause (see Shale Daily, May 4). According to the order, the blast left a crater 30 feet wide, 50 feet long and 12 feet deep. The explosion, the order said, launched about 25 feet of the 30-inch pipeline 100 feet from the site of the explosion.