Columbia Gas pipeline shut after W Va rupture

Columbia Gas Transmission's new 1.5 Bcf/d (42mn m³/d) Leach XPress natural gas pipeline is shut today following a rupture which caused no injuries but resulted in a force majeure.

A segment of the pipeline ruptured at about 4:15am ET today in Marshall county, West Virginia, leading to a fire that was extinguished by about 8:30am ET, Columbia Gas' parent company TransCanada said.

The rupture's cause is still unknown. TransCanada said it has secured the site, isolated the pipeline segment and is now working with regulators to investigate, including the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Columbia Gas today posted a force majeure notice, saying that until further notice flows on Leach XPress will be set to zero total capacity, down from recent flows of about 1.3 Bcf/d.

The Leach Xpress pipeline began commercial operations on 1 January. The line ships gas from West Virginia and Pennsylvania into Ohio and to an interconnection with Columbia Gulf pipeline near Leach, Kentucky.