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Gas is now flowing at full pressure in the natural gas pipeline that ruptured just north of the town of Appomattox in September.
Williams Gas Co. increased the pressure on the B line to its maximum of 800 pounds per square inch on Friday after receiving approval from federal regulators on Christmas Eve, said Carin Andre, spokeswoman for the company.
The line had started operating again about two weeks ago at a reduced pressure of 640 psi. This line is one of three that run side by side through Appomattox County carrying natural gas from the Gulf of Mexico to New York.
The B line failed before 8 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 14. The natural gas it released blew into a fireball that scorched an area 1,125 feet in diameter, according to preliminary findings in the federal investigation. Five area residents were injured.
Last month, Williams brought the A line back into full service of 800 psi of pressure and hopes to increase the pressure on the C line in early 2009, hinging on approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
At a meeting earlier this month, Williams officials had said the B line would remain at the reduced pressure through the winter. Why the pressure was increased last week instead is unclear.
About 2,500 feet of the B line was replaced following the explosion. The pipe was pressure tested earlier this month at 1,000 psi, the standard for new pipelines.
The investigation into the failure revealed that the more than 50-year-old pipe was corroding from the outside and that thinning wasn’t fully revealed by the tools used to examine the pipes.
The natural gas pipelines that run through Appomattox are part of the Transco line, which extends from the Gulf of Mexico to New York, including 858 miles in Virginia.
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