fire firegeezer on 29 Nov 2007 08:41 am
Crude Oil Pipeline Fire In Minnesota
AN EXPLOSIVE FIRE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON CRIPPLED A MAJOR pipeline that delivers crude oil from Canada to the U. S.
The Enbridge pipeline carrier is actually four lines, two larger and two smaller pipelines laid in proximity to each other. One of the larger lines was shut down yesterday while workers were repairing a leak when the fire occurred, killing two of the workers.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports:
An initial assessment indicates that during repairs, a fitting failed on the 34-inch-diameter Enbridge Energy interstate pipeline south of Clearbrook. Contrary to early reports, there was no explosion at the site, where Enbridge has a storage terminal.
“Apparently, when the repair was finished and they brought the pressure up by again starting the oil pumping through the line, one of the fittings failed,” said Kristine Chapin of the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety.
The pipe had leaked two weeks ago and a temporary repair had been put in place. As workers were removing the temporary repair, oil began leaking and the fumes ignited, said Darren Lemmerman, acting chief engineer with the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety.
Now the entire system is shut down while investigations and repairs are made. The other large line will require some repair and a regulatory inspection before it can start up again. The two smaller lines, which were several hundred feet away, will only require inspecting are expected to be back online soon. The line that suffered the explosion and fire will be out of service for quite a while.
The event took place about 3 miles SE from the pipeline’s Clearbrook, Minnesota, terminal. Early predictions say that the fire could burn for another 2 or 3 days. The fire has now burned itself out.
This major pipeline imports approx. 10% of the U. S. total consumption of crude oil and the accident will be extremely costly to the economy as the supply is drastically being reduced just as the winter heating season is beginning.
The Star-Tribune STORY.
