APFN
Pipeline which carries gasoline from Tucson into Phoenix.
Sat Aug 16 02:54:12 2003
64.140.159.16

3:44 PM MST Friday
Gas prices still climbing as tests set for broken pipeline
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2003/08/11/daily55.html

Valley gas prices have skyrocketed this week as the result of the closure of the Kinder Morgan pipeline which carries gasoline from Tucson into Phoenix.

This week, the statewide average for a gallon of self serve unleaded regular hit $1.65, nearly 8 cents higher than last week.

This is the highest price since July 2, when prices were $1.65 per gallon. Prices a year ago this month averaged $1.43 per gallon, 21 cents lower than the current price.

By Friday, Phoenix pump prices rose nearly 19 cents on average to $1.72. Tucson's gas prices are up nearly 12 cents at $1.63. In Scottsdale, gas is $1.77, in the East Valley it's $1.70 and and in the West Valley, the average on Friday was $1.73.

There were reports of gas stations being out of gas in the West Valley, but AAA officials attributed that to the slower distribution system used while the pipeline is down.

"Some stations are running out, not because there's a gas shortage, but because the trucks are getting stretched a little thin," said AAA spokeswoman Kim Pappas. "If your deliveries are just around the Valley, you can get to a lot more stations than you can if you have to make a trip to Tucson."

Kinder Morgan Partners officials said the company is working on a plan to repair the pipeline, which ruptured July 30 and spewed 10,000 gallons of gasoline near a new housing development in Tucson.

Trucks are now being used to ship fuel into Phoenix, a slower and more expensive way to deliver fuel, and that is also pushing local pump prices higher.

The Arizona Corporation Commission's Pipeline Safety Section met Thursday with representatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation and Kinder Morgan officials, and learned that Kinder Morgan has planned hydrostatic testing to be performed on sections of the pipe.

This involves filling the pipe with water and ramping up the pressure so that it exceeds the pipeline's maximum allowable pressure. Two kinds of tests will be done - a "spike" test and a sustained pressure test.

A spike test involves high pressure over a short duration. For example, pressurizing the line to 125 percent of maximum operating pressure for duration of about 30 minutes. A sustained pressure test requires pressurizing the line above maximum allowable pressure and holding that pressure over a long time period. For example, running the pressure at 110 percent for 8 hours.

Testing will be done over a total of 20 to 30 miles of pipe at different points along the line.

DOT, Kinder Morgan and ACC officials said they expect to reach an agreement on the exact pressures for the spike test and sustained pressure tests. Kinder Morgan is preparing to do these tests and the pressurization criteria should be settled by the end of the business day Friday.

In addition, officials said, there will be a series of tests to check the pipeline for corrosion or stress cracks. The outcome of these tests will allow the three parties involved to determine a more precise time frame for restoring the line to full operation.

At this point, ACC officials believe service could be restored in one to two weeks.

For more: http://www.aaa.com
http://www.cc.state.az.us
http://www.kindermorgan.com

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Paying the price
Gas gasp more complex than just patching an old pipeline
Aug. 16, 2003 12:00 AM
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0816sat1-16.html

For Valley drivers fuming over the price of filling up, the answer seems obvious: Get that closed gasoline pipeline up and running.

Sorry.

Hundreds of millions gallons of gasoline under pressure shouldn't be run through an aging pipeline until we're sure it's safe.

For the short run, that means putting up with spot shortages, especially in premium gas, and higher prices. Gov. Janet Napolitano told state employees to conserve fuel and urged consumers to follow suit, which would not only take some pressure off supplies but also save drivers a few bucks.

For the long run, it's clear that we need a more aggressive inspection schedule for pipelines in Arizona. It's also glaringly apparent just how fragile our supply system is.

Arizona has no gasoline refineries. We depend on two pipelines, one from Texas and one from California, to supply the state. Neither has a backup.

The problem occurred on the Tucson-to-Phoenix leg of the pipeline that starts in El Paso.

The line ruptured July 30, pouring 10,000 gallons of gasoline into a new-home subdivision in Tucson. Gasoline spills not only damage the immediate environment with toxic substances, but can also contaminate groundwater. All that flammable material poses a huge safety threat as well.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners of Houston, which operates the pipeline, decided to shut it down completely after inspectors discovered that internal corrosion might have caused the rupture.

The El Paso pipeline is 48 years old, an age when even humans start getting more frequent checkups. Under federal cutbacks in 2000, however, pipeline inspections have been reduced. It has been seven years since the state, which receives federal funding to do the checks, last inspected the pipeline internally.

The process is expensive, because the pipeline must be dug up, but it's the only way to check for corrosion inside. Leaving aside environmental and safety concerns, the economic threat of disrupting Arizona's gasoline supply is enough to justify more frequent and well-coordinated inspections.

That's especially true for the pipeline from Los Angeles, which carries 70 percent of our gasoline.

Ideally, points out Marc Spitzer, chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission, we would have extra pipelines as insurance against a breakdown. A big hurdle, though, is the enormous amount of private capital required upfront.

As we gasp over the prices at the pump, we can take a cold comfort in knowing the pipeline shutdown is hitting Californians in the wallet, too.

The disruption here has caused a spike in wholesale gasoline prices there. One reason is that some California gasoline is being shipped to Arizona to make up for the shortfall.

Also, as an executive of the California Energy Commission points out, prices jump "any time there is a hiccup or a burp in the refining or refining distribution system."

Let's hope that a thorough inspection of the El Paso pipeline finds the problem was local and not widespread corrosion.

We'll get off easy if this is just a hiccup. But we'll still have to treat the larger problem.
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Valley gas prices soar as pipeline shuts down
Arizona Republic, AZ - Aug 12, 2003
... Kinder Morgan Energy Partners closed its Phoenix-to-Tucson pipeline Friday after
an investigation of a July 30 rupture found some of the pipe was defective
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0812gas12.html

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