Enbridge Starts Pressure Test Of Downed Pipeline
Date: 01-Sep-10
Country: CANADA
Author: Jeffrey Jones
Enbridge Inc has begun testing the integrity of a pipeline it repaired after a rupture spilled heavy crude into a Michigan river system, and regulators will use the results to determine if it is ready to resume deliveries, a spokeswoman said on Monday.
The pressure validation test involves running water through the segment of Line 6B that broke last month near Marshall, Michigan, using a higher pressure than employed for normal oil shipments, spokeswoman Jennifer Varey said.
"The pressure validation test is under way today," Varey said.
Enbridge executives have said the test is likely to last about eight hours.
The company is waiting for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to rule on its plan to restart the 190,000 barrel a day pipeline.
The line serves refineries in the U.S. upper Midwest and southern Ontario that, together, process more than 700,000 barrels a day. It is part of Enbridge's massive pipeline network, which moves the lion's share of Canada's oil exports to the United States.
The refineries have been forced to secure supplies via other pipelines, although Enbridge has rationed space on some of its other conduits in the region as shippers scrambled to reroute volumes.
At least three refineries in Ohio and Pennsylvania have reduced output as a result of the July 26 pipeline break.
Meanwhile, price discounts for Canadian heavy crude oil have widened since the rupture, which spilled 19,500 barrels of oil into the Kalamazoo River system.
(Editing by Rob Wilson)
