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Explosion, fire on new Columbia Gas Transmission line triggers force majeure

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Explosion, fire on new Columbia Gas Transmission line triggers force majeure

A relatively new TransCanada Corp. transmission pipeline in West Virginia ruptured in the early hours of June 7, disrupting an estimated 1.3 MMDth of firm service and damaging 10 acres of forest.

The company declared a force majeure on the Leach Xpress line, part of the Columbia Gas Transmission LLC system that carries gas from southeast Ohio, West Virginia and southwest Pennsylvania west across Ohio and then south to an interconnect in Leach, Ky. The affected section will be flowing zero capacity for the June 8 gas day, TransCanada said, and that will remain the case until further notice.

Based on current nominations, the potential impact is on 1.3 MMdth of firm service, according to pipeline informational postings.

"Emergency response procedures have been activated and the impacted area of pipeline has been isolated at this time," TransCanada spokeswoman Lindsey Fought said June 7. "The cause of this issue is not yet known."

The incident in Marshall County, W.Va., occurred around 4:15 a.m. Eastern Time, according to TransCanada, and emergency personnel were on scene about 15 minutes later, according to the county's Office of Emergency Management.

The rupture on the 36-inch line did not cause any injuries but affected about 10 acres of forest, the Office of Emergency Management said.

Columbia Gas began service on the newly built 1.5 Bcf/d Leach XPress line on Jan. 1. The roughly $1.52 billion expansion project allows Columbia to carry Appalachian gas supplies to markets in Ohio and pooling points on Columbia Gas' system.

Private companies Kaiser Francis Oil Co. and Ascent Resources each subscribed to 400 MMcf/d of capacity, while Range Resources Corp., Noble Energy Inc. and Gulfport Energy Corp. subscribed to most of the remaining capacity.