Firm to reopen gas pipe in river

Work on broken backup ongoing

Spectra Energy said Monday that it plans this week to restart its main natural gas transmission line running under the Arkansas River between Little Rock and North Little Rock, more than a month after the parallel backup pipeline ruptured.

The company is still working to remove sections of the ruptured backup pipeline about 1 mile east of the Interstate 30 bridge. The line failed May 31 and released 3.9 million cubic feet of natural gas into the flooded river.

The 24-inch lines are about 10 feet apart and are part of Spectra Energy's Texas Eastern Transmission system.

The company said the main pipeline was operating normally after the backup line failed but was shut down June 1 as a precaution and for inspection.

"Results of the inline inspections indicated no areas of concern, and we expect the main line to return to service this week," said company spokesman Creighton Welch in an email.

The pipeline, which required no repairs, is scheduled to return to service Thursday, he said.

The primary transmission line runs from Texas to New Jersey and services CenterPoint Energy.

"No CenterPoint Energy customers were impacted when Spectra's line was out of service, nor will any be impacted when they bring their line back into service," said spokesman Alicia Dixon.

Once Spectra Energy removes pieces of the backup pipeline from the river, the company will inspect it to determine the cause of the break.

The backup pipeline is 4½ miles long. A 400-foot section of pipe broke away when it ruptured and was pushed downstream.

As of Monday, the company had removed about 360 feet of pipe from the river, Welch said, adding that river conditions "continue to be a factor in the pace of the recovery effort."

To remove the sections of pipe -- both the separated piece and other parts that are still connected to the pipeline -- Spectra Energy will have to cut the pipe into "manageable pieces."

The company has said some cuts will be made underwater, with further cuts being made once the pipeline is placed on a barge.

The pipeline that ruptured was filled with natural gas, but it was not in use and was not being remotely monitored by Spectra Energy when it failed.

Business on 07/07/2015

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