The Colonial Pipeline gas leak

Colonial Pipeline Co [COLPI.UL] shut down both of its main gasoline and distillates pipelines on Monday following an explosion and fire in Shelby County, Alabama, near the site of a gasoline spill last month.

Colonial’s gasoline, distillate lines shut after explosion, fire in Alabama
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pipeline-blast-alabama-idUSKBN12V2FC

Monday Oct. 31, 2016 - A segment of the pipeline was undergoing maintenance on Monday afternoon when it exploded, resulting in several workers suffering serious injuries, according to the Shelby County sheriff’s office. The number of those injured is believed to be less than ten, the sheriff’s office said.

The explosion occurred near Highway 13 and River Road, the Shelby County sheriff’s department said. The fire was still burning as of 6:15 p.m EDT (2215 GMT).

Colonial said company personnel and emergency crews were responding to the incident. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said they were aware of the incident and also had personnel en route to the site.

Colonial Pipeline experienced a spill in Shelby County on Sept. 9, which leaked between 6,000 to 8,000 barrels of gasoline. The pipeline was out of service for more than 12 days following that incident, and drove up gasoline prices at the pump in the U.S. Southeast. [nL2N1BQ18G]

That gasoline leak was the company’s biggest since 1997 and the third-largest among all products in the last two decades. [nL3N1BV370]

Colonial is a key artery that connects Gulf Coast refineries with markets across the southern and eastern United States, delivering gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products.

U.S. gasoline futures jumped as much as 13 percent to their highest since early June at the open of the futures trading session. The prompt futures spread widened to the highest since Aug. 3.

Colonial operates two main pipelines from Houston, Texas to Greensboro, Carolina. Its gasoline line has capacity of about 1.3 million barrels per day.

The explosion occurred about a mile from any residential area, according to local media.


Explosion is 1 mile west of previous pipeline leak

Injuries reported in Shelby County pipeline explosion (Video)
http://www.wvtm13.com/article/explosion-reported-in-mccalla/8059847

Multiple fire crews are on the scene of an explosion in the McCalla area Monday afternoon.

The explosion was reported along River Road in western Shelby County.

McCalla Fire, McAdory Fire, Bessemer Fire and Birmingham Fire are all responding to the scene. Shelby County deputies, as well as Jefferson and Shelby County EMA representatives are also responding.

Helena Fire officials say the explosion is at a Colonial Pipeline facility, approximately 1 mile west of the site of the recent leak. Authorities say it’s a different situation and are unsure what is burning at this time.

Four patients are currently being treated at UAB Hospital. An additional six or seven non-critical patients were taken to Shelby Baptist Hospital.

ADEM officials say the pipeline has been shut down, but remaining gas needs to burn off.

Coleen Vansant with the Alabama Forestry Commission said the explosion has spawned three wildfires: one is currently 7 acres, one is 10 acres, and another one is ongoing at the site of the explosion. Containment lines are being built around the fires.

Residents within a three-mile radius of the explosion site have been asked to evacuate. Helena Mayor Mark Hall said it is a sparsely populated area.

Photos and video footage:
http://abc3340.com/news/local/explosion-reported-in-helena
 
Also - would like to add this news story - due to both being gas pipeline fires.

Fire Near North Dakota Pipeline Protests Under Investigation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6k635RDhDg (0:41 min.)

Published on Oct 30, 2016

Authorities were looking into the cause of a blaze that burned through about 400 acres near where Native American leaders are protesting against a North Dakota oil pipeline they say threatens water and sacred lands, officials said on Sunday. Authorities have not given any indication on whether the fire was deliberately set or if it was related to the protests taking place a few miles away. More than 400 protesters have been arrested since Aug. 10 in rallies that have attracted support from celebrities including Mark Ruffalo, Shailene Woodley, Susan Sarandon and Chris Hemsworth.


Also: Full coverage and videos - photos.
Shots reportedly fired, 141 arrested at Dakota Access Pipeline protests
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/live-updates-from-the-dakota-access-pipeline-protests-oct-27/
 
This article is back-dated January 1st, 2014 and gives some interesting background information into the Politics involved in "pipelines verses rail transport" in transporting oil and gas and the big money players involved. North Dakota is featured in this article.

After a catastrophic, but thankfully not deadly or injurious, train derailment near Casselton, North Dakota, right before the holiday the need for pipeline infrastructure has been put into sharp focus. Pipelines are, without a doubt, a safer way to transport oil. They’re not perfect – as North Dakotans saw earlier this year when a Tesoro-owned pipeline dumped about 20,000 barrels of oil on the ground near Tioga – but one thing pipelines never do is derail.

The War Over Pipelines: Heidi Heitkamp Has Big Financial Ties To Warren Buffett
_https://www.sayanythingblog.com/entry/the-war-over-pipelines-heidi-heitkamp-has-big-financial-ties-to-warren-buffett/

All railroads run through population centers (western society was built around the railroad), whereas pipelines tend to avoid population areas. And while oil leaking isn’t good for the environment, a leak is far less deadly than a train coming off the rails.

But the build-out of pipeline infrastructure has been hampered by politics. The Keystone XL pipeline project, which could take roughly 10% of the Bakken’s current output, has been on ice for years as the Obama administration has dithered at the behest of noisy left-wing anti-fossil fuel activists. The Sandpiper project, which could take as much as 25% of the Bakken’s current output and will soon be getting public hearings here in North Dakota, has faced heavy opposition from activists in Minnesota.

The obstruction of pipeline projects has been a boon for the rail industry. According to the Association of American Railroads crude oil rail shipments increased 42% from the 3rd quarter of 2012 through the 3rd quarter of 2013. In North Dakota, specifically, oil-by-rail capacity has increased a whopping 2,873% since 2008.

A big beneficiary of this ramp-up in demand for rail services is Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, owned by outspoken Obama supporter Warren Buffett (it was BNSF trains that derailed near Casselton). Buffett bought up BNSF in 2009, shortly after President Obama was elected, and it is widely speculated that the President’s opposition to the Keystone XL project is a very profitable favor to Buffett.

But is North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp also making good on that favor?

Heitkamp campaigned on the Keystone project, promising voters that she would “stand up” to President Obama on the issue. But since taking office, Heitkamp has been anything but a leader on the issue. Earlier this year when President Obama ridiculed the economic impact of the Keystone project, prompting a fierce response from North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, Heitkamp was largely silent. She spends little time talking about the issue these days.

She does about the minimum required to maintain her status as a Keystone supporter, but little more.

Why was Heitkamp so outspoken about Keystone during her campaign, but so softspoken on the issue now that she’s in office?

Maybe this has something to do with it: Warren Buffett himself maxed out contributions to both Heitkamp’s pre-primary and general election campaigns:

Also, according to Senate financial disclosures, Heitkamp owns between $166,004 to $415,000 worth of stock in Buffett’s company Berkshire Hataway (Senate disclosures are weird, reporting ranges for values of assets instead of specific dollar amounts). And Berkshire Hathaway employees were among Heitkamp’s top-ten sources of political contributions in the 2012 cycle, according to OpenSecrets.org.

When it comes to the fight over pipelines, is Heidi Heitkamp more loyal to the promises she made to her constituents, or the financial interests of billionaire Democrat money man?

Maybe that’s something the Senator needs to explain.

Neither of North Dakota’s other two members of Congress – Rep. Kevin Cramer and Sen. John Hoeven – received any personal contributions from Buffett, nor do they own any interest in Buffett’s company. Senator Hoeven did, during his 2010 race, get $18,000 in contributions from Berkshire Hathaway employees, though that appears to be the only connection between Hoeven and Buffett.
 
They've blamed this explosion on an excavator rupturing the pipeline, but I wonder what (if any) natural factors are involved...

Latest Alabama pipeline leak marks Colonial's fifth in the state this year

AL.com said:
Between 2010 and 2015, the company made only six such reports [of leaks/damage] to the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA.) [...] the company has gone from reporting an average of one Alabama incident per year over the last six years to at least five in the first nine months of 2016.
 
Group awareness, to me, on the environmental concerns regarding the transport of toxic fluids over great distances through pipe that physically breaks down, leaks and where pipe's structural integrity also depends on the quality of installation is on the rise. I'm not even bringing transportation by bot into the mix here. Sorry about the long mouthful...

Methinks the social media may have had influence on this rise of awareness. PEOPLE got and are still getting involved. Virtually. Word is spreading with such ferocity that the mainstream media appears to be bending their ways and are actually reporting on more catastrophes than usual. Is this because of potential public pressure for real journalism, the mass public may start demanding an end to lies, spin and disinformation? Mass consciousness attempting to reach critical mass? Or is there some other diabolical plan?

Wonder as I may, I ask myself why this increase of reporting from the MSM? Accidents that poison the environment have been occurring for years, why is the mainstream media giving this area growing coverage? Somebody out there working a plan? What is that plan? Is the possible end of fossil fuels within reach? Coal and Oil... Years ago, didn't good ole Prez Barack infer he desired this destruction of fossil fuels?

Sorry about this little rant of emotional outburst... Keep eyes wide open. Five(5) days before the election and I cannot get over this feeling of a fork in the road up ahead. And which way will we go? I sure don't know but this is starting to feel like a helluva roller coaster ride and I can't see around the corner up ahead.
And I have a front seat...
 
Another gas pipeline leak found by hunters in New York.

Gas Pipeline Leak in Franklinville, New York Dec. 2, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSWUXIdnskE (0:30 min.)

List of pipeline accidents in the United States in the 21st century
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents_in_the_United_States_in_the_21st_century

Listing (massive) from the year 2000 and on. This is the 2016 list:

2016[edit]
On January 2, 3 people were injured, one seriously, one home destroyed, and 50 homes were damaged in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, when a leak gas from a gas main entered a home. Preliminary results indicate that a leak occurred at a weld seam on the gas main. Later, Oklahoma regulators filed a complaint over the failure with Oklahoma Natural Gas. The complaint alleged the utility failed to properly inspect its system following eight previous leak failures in the neighborhood going back to 1983.[552][553]
On January 9, a 30-inch Atmos Energy gas transmission pipeline exploded and burned in Robertson County, Texas. 4 families nearby were evacuated.[554]
On January 11, butane leaking from a pipeline storage facility, in Conway, Kansas, forced a closure of a nearby highway for a time.[555]
On February 14, a 6-inch crude oil pipeline broke near Rozet, Wyoming, spilling about 1,500 gallons of crude oil into a creek bed.[556]
On February 16, an explosion and fire occurred at a gas plant in Frio County, Texas. 2 employees at the plant were injured.[557]
On February 24, a 10-inch propane pipeline exploded and burned, near Sulphur, Louisiana. There were no injuries. About 208,000 gallons of propane were burned. The cause was from manufacturing defects.[558][559]
On March 11, about 30,000 gallons of gasoline spilled from a leaking plug on a pipeline, at a tank farm in Sioux City, Iowa.[560]
On March 22, about 4,000 gallons of gasoline spilled from a 6-inch petroleum products pipeline in Harwood, North Dakota.[561]
On April 2, the TransCanada Corporation Keystone Pipeline was observed by a local resident to be leaking, near Freeman, South Dakota. The cause was a crack in a girth weld, and amount of tar sands dilbit spill was about 16,800 gallons.[562][563]
On April 12, a pipeline at a gas plant in Woodsboro, Texas exploded, killing 2 men, and injured another worker.[564]
On April 17, a 10 petroleum products pipeline failed in Wabash County, Illinois, resulting in a sheen on the Wabash River. About 48,000 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled.[565]
On April 29, a 30-inch Texas Eastern/Spectra Energy pipeline exploded, injuring one man, destroying his home and damaging several others. The incident was reported at 8:17 a.m., near the intersection of Routes 819 and 22 in Salem Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Later, Spectra Energy Corp. announced plans to dig up and assess 263 miles of that pipeline, from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. Corrosion had been detected at the failed seam 4 years before the rupture.[566][567][568]
On May 20, a Shell Oil Company pipeline leaked near Tracy, California, spilling about 21,000 gallons of crude oil.[569]
On June 23, a Crimson Pipeline crude oil line leaked in Ventura County, California. Initial reports said the spill size was from 25,200 gallons to 29,000 gallons, but, later reports estimate 45,000 gallons of crude were spilled.[570][571]
On July 6, a Plantation Pipeline line was noticed to be leaking in Goochland County, Virginia. The spill did not reach nearby waterways.[572]
On August 12, contractors were working on one of the main lines in Sunoco Pipeline LP's Nederland, Texas terminal when crude oil burst through a plug that was supposed to hold the oil back in the pipeline and ignited. The contractors were knocked off the platform to the ground, suffering injuries from the fall and severe burns. 7 contractors were injured.[573]
On September 4, a pipeline broke in Kern County, California, spilling reclaimed water & oil.
On September 5, a pipeline in Bay Long, Louisiana was hit by dredging operations, resulting in a spill of about 5,300 gallons of crude oil into the water.[574]
On September 9, a Colonial Pipeline mainline leak was noticed by workers on another project, in Shelby County, Alabama. At least 252,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from line.[575][576]
On September 10, a Sunoco pipeline ruptured near Sweetwater, Texas. About 33,000 gallons of crude oil were spilled. The pipeline was just over a year old.[577]
On October 11, two Nicor Gas workers were injured, and two townhouse units destroyed in a massive fire and explosion, caused by a gas leak in Romeoville, Illinois.[578]
On October 17, an 8-inch ammonia pipeline started leaking, near Tekamah, Nebraska. A farmer living nearby went to find the source of the ammonia, and was killed by entering the vapor cloud. About 50 people were evacuated from their homes.[579]
On October 19, a contractor in Portland, Oregon hit a 1 inch gas pipeline during work. Within an hour, there were 2 explosions, injuring 8 people, destroying or damaging several buildings, and started a fire. Contractors claim a utility locate was done before work began.[580]
On October 21, an 8 inch Sunoco pipeline ruptured in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, spilling about 55,000 gallons of gasoline into the Susquehanna River. The river was running high at the time.[581]
On October 24, a pipeline ruptured on the Seaway Pipeline, in Cushing, Oklahoma, spraying the area with crude oil.[582]
On October 24, the Pennsylvania Pipeline built by Sunoco and the Energy Transfer Partners ruptured leaking 55,000 gallons of crude oil into the PA River that is heading toward the Atlantic Ocean. These are the same builders constructing with Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) without conducting an Environmental Impact Statement. Sunoco has over 200 pipeline leak accidents since 2010. See the Reuters article link. #NoDAPL https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/10/21/sunoco-gas-pipeline-ruptures-in-lycoming-county/, http://bients.com/pennsylvania-pipelines-bursts-leaks-55000-gallons-gas-one-us-endangered-rivers/, https://insideclimatenews.org/news/30082016/dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock-sioux-army-corps-engineers-approval-environment, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pipeline-nativeamericans-safety-i-idUSKCN11T1UW.
On October 31, a Colonial Pipeline mainline exploded and burned in Shelby County, Alabama, after accidentally being hit by a trackhoe. One worker died at the scene, and 5 others were hospitalized. The explosion occurred approximately several miles from the 9 September 2016 breach.[583][584]
On December 2, equipment failure in a Denbury Resources source water pipeline led to a leak of approximately 84,000 gallons of source water into Skull Creek, in Bowman County, North Dakota. [585]
 
A natural gas pipeline explosion and fire in Refugio, Texas.

Pipeline explosion felt 60 miles away (Photos - Video)
http://www.khou.com/news/local/texas/pipeline-explosion-shakes-homes-near-refugio/408507389

Wed. February 15, 2017 - REFUGIO, Texas – A natural gas pipeline explosion and fire in Refugio shook homes up to 60 miles away early Wednesday morning.

The flames from the explosion shot more than 200 feet into the air and could be seen from miles around.

"The area was lit up as if it were daylight for miles around," the Refugio County sheriff said in a statement. Heat from the fire could be felt a quarter of a mile away, according to the sheriff.

State Troopers say there are no reports of injuries or serious damage. The fire is now under control.

It was about midnight when troopers received the first reports of a large explosion between Corpus Christi and Victoria, about 160 miles southwest of the Houston area.

Troopers say the explosion occurred along a natural gas pipeline owned by Kinder-Morgan about a quarter-mile off 427 FM Rd 774.

Kinder Morgan released a statement saying they shut down the pipeline segment as soon as they were notified and regulatory agencies were alerted.

An investigation into the cause of the release is being conducted by the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas.

KHOU 11 viewer Andy Dustin claims he could see the orange glow from about 150 miles away in Katy.

IFrameAnd more than 150 miles away in Waller County, sheriff's deputies thought the fire was much closer.

Deputy Andrew Blauser said he saw an ominous orange wall that glowed like an erupting volcano. He rushed to track down the source.
 
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