US Colonial begins excavation on damaged pipeline

Work overnight made “substantial progress” on the pipeline, company officials said. The line, damaged in an explosion Monday, ranges from Texas to northeastern New Jersey, and supplies much of the southeastern US with gasoline. (Image source: US Energy Information Administration) 

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Colonial Pipeline began excavation and preparation on its damaged line in Alabama overnight, according to an incident update released on Thursday.

The excavation and removal of product from Colonial’s Line 1 made “substantial progress,” according to the company. Line 1 carries an estimated 1.4m bbl/day of gasoline from the Gulf Coast to a North Carolina junction.

Once all product from the damaged segment is removed, Colonial said a nearby small fire will be extinguished and “drain-up” operations will commence.

Emergency crews allowed the fire started by Monday’s explosion to burn under supervision before they contained it on Tuesday. Alabama has experienced a drought for the last several weeks and most of its counties are under a month-long burn ban.

Colonial also confirmed it plans to remove the segment and install a permanent repair as opposed to circumventing the damage with a bypass line, as was the case with the 9 September leak which occurred nearby.

The company’s update did not disclose a specific timeframe, though previous reports have estimated Line 1 will remain shutdown through the week.

Along with efforts Wednesday on Line 1, Colonial excavated Line 2, which carries diesel, jet fuel and other distillates. After visual inspection it was determined Line 2 had not been impacted by the explosion.

The incident is still causing market reactions, which range from jet fuel kerosene arbitrage earlier in the week to concerns over supply shortages in the northeast.

The company added that no spillage reached nearby water sources, and that air, soil and water samples were still under evaluation.

A contractor monitors air quality at the site of the 31 October explosion and fire in Shelby county, Alabama. (Image source: Colonial Pipeline)