update on el paso ' s nm pipeline testing el paso proceeding with nm pipe integrity testing
el paso natural gas has received approval from the u . s . department of
transportation ' s office of pipeline safety ( ops ) to conduct more internal
inspections on its rebuilt new mexico pipeline , which ruptured august 19
killing 11 people ( see daily gpi , aug . 22 ) . since the explosion , flows
through the line , which runs from west texas to california , have been reduced
to 85 % capacity , or about 920 mmcf / d .
ops said the el paso line has already been repaired and put through
hydrostatic testing , which it passed . hydrostatic testing checks for cracks
by forcing high - pressure water through the line . now el paso has the green
light to begin smart pig testing , which will examine the internal integrity
of the line . the device , called a pig because of the sound it makes during
inspections , has sensors and once placed inside the line , it can detect
dents , deformities and changes in wall thickness .
neither ops nor el paso released a timetable as to when the pigging would
occur or how long it would take . however , once the testing is completed , the
results will be evaluated by ops , which then would determine if the line were
safe for commercial use .
ops has not issued actual regulations on smart pig use , but they have become
increasingly sophisticated and more widely used . even though hydrostatic
testing can actually detect certain flaws that are invisible to smart pigs ,
the pigging process is considered a complement to the water testing and
ensures more integrity in test results .
ops requires all pipe to undergo at least one hydrostatic test after
construction . although not mandated , ops also has proposed requiring
pipelines that transport liquid petroleum products to use direct assessment
methods such as pigging to evaluate the pipeline ' s integrity . other types of
inspections include using magnetic particles or ultrasound to measure the
pipe wall ' s thickness .
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update on el paso ' s nm pipeline testing
el paso proceeding with nm pipe integrity testing
el paso natural gas has received approval from the u . s . department of
transportation ' s office of pipeline safety ( ops ) to conduct more internal
inspections on its rebuilt new mexico pipeline , which ruptured august 19
killing 11 people ( see daily gpi , aug . 22 ) . since the explosion , flows
through the line , which runs from west texas to california , have been reduced
to 85 % capacity , or about 920 mmcf / d .
ops said the el paso line has already been repaired and put through
hydrostatic testing , which it passed . hydrostatic testing checks for cracks
by forcing high - pressure water through the line . now el paso has the green
light to begin smart pig testing , which will examine the internal integrity
of the line . the device , called a pig because of the sound it makes during
inspections , has sensors and once placed inside the line , it can detect
dents , deformities and changes in wall thickness .
neither ops nor el paso released a timetable as to when the pigging would
occur or how long it would take . however , once the testing is completed , the
results will be evaluated by ops , which then would determine if the line were
safe for commercial use .
ops has not issued actual regulations on smart pig use , but they have become
increasingly sophisticated and more widely used . even though hydrostatic
testing can actually detect certain flaws that are invisible to smart pigs ,
the pigging process is considered a complement to the water testing and
ensures more integrity in test results .
ops requires all pipe to undergo at least one hydrostatic test after
construction . although not mandated , ops also has proposed requiring
pipelines that transport liquid petroleum products to use direct assessment
methods such as pigging to evaluate the pipeline ' s integrity . other types of
inspections include using magnetic particles or ultrasound to measure the
pipe wall ' s thickness .
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