Enbridge continues to work on repairing the 36 inch natural gas pipeline ruptured October 9th, causing an explosion.
Spokesperson Jesse Semko estimates the line will be operational by mid-November. Once back in service, it will work at 80% of normal operating pressure.
“That’s an estimate based on the time we believe will be necessary to return to service and incorporated in that would be the construction work, the time that we would require to test the system afterwards, as well as receive regulatory approval for the National Energy Board.”
As for a cause, that is still yet to be determined. The Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and Semko says Enbridge will not be considering the cause until it is done.
“We need to wait for them to complete their investigation so we have no timing on when that will happen and we can’t speculate on a cause at this point. It’s really important that we gather all the information, gather all the facts, and let the TSB complete their investigation.”
The 30 inch TSouth line damaged in the explosion was put back into service October 11th at a reduced pressure to ensure ongoing safety of the system.