Williams gas pipeline rupture in Pennsylvania

Williams has confirmed that a natural gas pipeline in Pennsylvania ruptured late on Wednesday, requiring area residents to evacuate their homes briefly but causing no injuries or impact to service.

"There was no fire," Williams Spokesman Chris Stockton said on Thursday as the company moved the flow of gas through the area to its other pipes in the area.

He said the rupture occurred in Lycoming County near the town of Unityville in the northeastern part of the state.

The breach was in a section of the Transco Leidy pipeline, which moves gas from the Leidy area in north central Pennsylvania to the main Transco pipeline in New Jersey.

The middle of three pipes in that section of the Leidy pipeline failed, Stockton said.

The Leidy pipeline moves gas from the Marcellus shale area of Pennsylvania. It is a bidirectional system with multiple lines that can transport in total about 3.5 billion ft³/d, Stockton said.

"We responded to the rupture pretty quickly by remotely shutting off the flow of gas," Stockton said.

The rupture occurred on a 24 in. natural gas pipeline. The cause of the pipe failure has not been determined, Williams said.

Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner

Sources: Reuters, Lancaster Online

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/12062015/williams-gas-pipeline-rupture-in-pennsylvania/