Accidents

On April 29, Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission (TETCO) “Delmont Line 27” pipeline exploded in Westmoreland County, PA, seriously injuring one resident who still cannot walk after being burned over much of his body (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate). The reason for the explosion and fire was corrosion on welds covered with a particular kind of pipe tape no longer in use (see Spectra Says PA Pipeline Explosion “Unacceptable,” Blames Pipe Tape). Brace yourself for news that may make you angry: An investigation four years ago (in 2012) discovered corrosion in the very area where the pipe would eventually explode. Spectra says they documented the corrosion, but pipe corrosion happens over time–this is nothing new–and the thing to do is to monitor it. Spectra planned to reexamine the welds and the corrosion again in 2019, per the normal and accepted safety schedule. According to Spectra, until now it has been observed that corrosion of pipes happens at a rate of no more than 2-3% per year. In the case of the exploding TETCO pipeline, the corrosion rate was vastly accelerated, more like 10-15% per year since the last examination. What made it speed up?…
Read More “Spectra Admits Detecting Corrision in Exploded TETCO Pipe 4 Yrs Ago”

An update on Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission’s (TETCO) “Delmont Line 27” which exploded in Westmoreland County, PA on April 29 (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate). We previously told you that not only was Line 27 out of commission, so too were three other pipelines running through the same corridor, meaning 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day is not reaching certain mid-Atlantic markets (see Update on Spectra Pipeline Explosion Near Pittsburgh). The early evidence points to corrosion along welded seams, although the jury is still out and the exact cause may not be known for months (see Preliminary Guess on TETCO Pipeline Explosion Cause: Corrosion). One of the four lines that was offline (Line 19) was examined and certified by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in early May to go back online (see TETCO Pipeline Up & Running Post-Explosion; Antis Exploit Accident). However, the other three lines have remained idle pending further investigation (see TETCO PA Pipeline Explosion Still Limiting NatGas Flow Month Later). We now have an estimate of what else needs to be done, and how long it will take to do it…
Read More “Ruptured TETCO Pipeline in PA Offline Until November”

An update on Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission’s “Delmont Line 27” which exploded in Westmoreland County, PA on April 29 (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate). We previously told you that not only was Line 27 out of commission, so too were three other pipelines running through the same corridor, meaning 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day is not reaching certain mid-Atlantic markets (see Update on Spectra Pipeline Explosion Near Pittsburgh). The early evidence points to corrosion along welded seams, although the jury is still out and the exact cause may not be known for months (see Preliminary Guess on TETCO Pipeline Explosion Cause: Corrosion). One of the four lines that was offline (Line 19) was examined and certified by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in early May to go back online (see TETCO Pipeline Up & Running Post-Explosion; Antis Exploit Accident). But since that time the other three lines have remained idle. When will the other three lines go back into service? And, did the Line 27 explosion cause any lasting airborne hazards?…
Read More “TETCO PA Pipeline Explosion Still Limiting NatGas Flow Month Later”

Last night representatives from Spectra Energy held a town hall meeting at the Congruity Presbyterian Church in Westmoreland County, PA to discuss the explosion of Spectra’s Texas Eastern Transmission’s (TETCO) “Delmont Line 27” which exploded in Westmoreland County, PA on April 29 (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate). Speaking and taking questions from the audience were Devin Hotzel, manager of stakeholder outreach, Tom Wooden, vice president of operations, Andy Drake, vice president of operations, and Randy Putt, local area manager. According to Spectra, they think a tape coating used on the welds of the pipeline is the culprit–having corroded over time. There may be other contributing factors, but right now they are concentrating on the tape coating which they say was only used for a short period of time–in the early 1980s when the pipeline was built. Here’s a report from the meeting…
Read More “Spectra Says PA Pipeline Explosion “Unacceptable,” Blames Pipe Tape”

An update on Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission’s “Delmont Line 27” which exploded in Westmoreland County, PA on April 29 (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate). We previously told you that not only was Line 27 out of commission, so too were three other pipelines running through the same corridor, meaning 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day is not reaching certain mid-Atlantic markets (see Update on Spectra Pipeline Explosion Near Pittsburgh). The early evidence points to corrosion along welded seams, although the jury is still out and the exact cause may not be known for months (see Preliminary Guess on TETCO Pipeline Explosion Cause: Corrosion). That doesn’t stop antis from engaging in wild speculation and “I told you so” statements, as they are now engaged in. THE Delaware Riverkeeper, which opposed the expansion of horsepower/capacity at a compressor station close to the explosion, is now saying the increased flow rate through the pipeline caused the corrosion. Which all sounds reasonable–until you read the words “I can’t say for certain there is a cause-effect relationship between the increases in [compressor] horsepower and the pipeline explosion, but it is information that should be part of the public discussion about this incident and pipeline safety in general.” Translation: “We won’t let this crisis go to waste. It doesn’t matter what the real cause was, we’ll amp up this explosion in sympathetic anti-drilling news outlets like the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and spread fear everywhere we can–so we can shut down natural gas in this country.” Below is an update from Spectra Energy that one of the four pipelines is now operating again, along with the latest attempt to demagogue and unfortunate accident with absolutely no evidence…
Read More “TETCO Pipeline Up & Running Post-Explosion; Antis Exploit Accident”

There was an explosion and fire in Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission’s (TETCO) “Delmont Line 27” pipeline last Friday (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate). The explosion occurred in Salem Township in Westmoreland County, PA, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. Although the cause of the explosion is still not known for sure, investigators do have a working theory–corrosion along welded seams in the pipeline. Investigators from the U.S Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) still say, officially, that the cause is “unknown” and the investigation “ongoing.” However, those same investigators have said they found evidence of corrosion and they’ve ordered another section of the pipeline in the area to be dug up, removed, and sent for analysis. Here’s the latest on the situation, along with an estimate of when service might be returned on this very important pipeline…
Read More “Preliminary Guess on TETCO Pipeline Explosion Cause: Corrosion”

Yesterday MDN told you about the Texas Eastern Transmission Company (TETCO) pipeline explosion last Friday in Westmoreland County, PA (see Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate). We still don’t know what caused the explosion. Spectra Energy, TETCO’s owner, is working with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to investigate the incident and several pipelines in the area back to service. Spectra shut down the flows of our pipelines in close proximity to the explosion “out of an abundance of caution.” The stoppage means about 1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas is not going to New York and New England, causing a price spike in the region. One local homeowner was seriously burned and sent to the UPMC Mercy Hospital burn unit in Pittsburgh. His condition has been upgraded from critical to serious. Below is an update with the latest we can find about the explosion and aftermath…
Read More “Update on Spectra Pipeline Explosion Near Pittsburgh”

There was an explosion and fire in Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission’s “Delmont Line 27” pipeline last Friday. The explosion occurred in Salem Township (Westmoreland County), PA, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. One man was seriously burned when his house caught on fire (his house was destroyed). Nine homes in the area of the explosion/blaze were evacuated. As of yesterday six of the nine were able to return to their homes. Texas Eastern Transmission is one of the largest natural gas pipelines in the U.S.–running from the Gulf Coast through Marcellus/Utica country to New Jersey. The really disgusting part was the way the NJ chapter of the radical Sierra Club immediately, with a few hours, used the explosion by implying this is what awaits homeowners if the PennEast Pipeline is built. FYI, the Texas Eastern pipeline was built in 1981 and the portion that exploded was last inspected in 2012. Below are pieces of news accounts and the running response from Spectra about the accident…
Read More “Texas Eastern Pipeline Explodes near Pittsburgh, Antis Celebrate”