US Colonial announces plan to restart after pipeline blast

David Haydon

02-Nov-2016

A YouTube video posted by Kevin Henderson on 31 October shows the large fire east of Woodstock, Alabama. (Courtesy of SkyBama.com) https://youtu.be/HIX7EC5hNhM
As soon as gasoline fires die out in central Alabama, the company says it will move to quickly restore the key pipeline between Texas and New Jersey. A YouTube video posted by Kevin Henderson on 31 October shows the large fire east of Woodstock, Alabama. (Courtesy of SkyBama.com)

HOUSTON (ICIS)–An operational plan to restart a ruptured pipeline in Alabama will be executed as soon as gasoline fires are extinguished, Colonial Pipeline said in a Wednesday update on the ongoing efforts following the 31 October incident.

On Monday, an LE Bell construction crew working on Colonial’s gasoline pipeline Line 1  in Shelby county struck the line with a backhoe, causing an explosion and fire. One worker was fatally injured.

Colonial said local emergency responders contained the fire Tuesday and are allowing it to burn under supervision. The company said that by Wednesday the fire had reduced significantly in size and does not present a hazard.

Once the fire is extinguished, however, Colonial said it will commence excavation work at the site to restart Line 1, which is expected to remain shut down through the week. Line 2, which carries diesel and distillates, was restarted on Monday evening.

In a 9 September leak of Line 1, Colonial used a bypass pipe in order to circumvent the leak and resume transport. Estimates range from 7,000 gallons leaked upon discovery, to 300,000 gallons spilled before containment.

US consumers along the eastern seaboard will see price increases at gasoline stations due to the incident, according to a Wednesday report by Fitch Ratings. However, northeast consumers will see less of an impact thanks to European imports and alternative shipping methods.

Since Line 1 is shut down in Alabama, similar to the September incident, delivery points north of the explosion site will see supply shortfalls. Fitch added the line carries 1.3m bbl/day of fuel, and the 12-day shutdown in September caused prices in states like Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas to spike more than $0.20/gal.

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