Coast Guard Reopens Calcasieu Channel After Pipeline Rupture
01 Avril 2011 - 8:48PM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Coast Guard said it reopened the Calcasieu Ship Channel
near Cameron, La., to all traffic Friday after a ruptured pipeline
forced the channel's closure days earlier.
An offshore natural gas pipeline owned by Enbridge Inc. (ENB)
ruptured late Wednesday during a dredging operation in the ship
channel. No pollution has yet been observed, the U.S. Coast Guard
said.
The channel, which provides access to the port of Lake Charles,
La., and its refineries from the Gulf of Mexico, was closed to all
ship traffic Wednesday night, but reopened to vessels with drafts
of less than 32 feet early Thursday, the Coast Guard said.
"A dive team will be re-entering the channel during the next
several days to assess the pipeline damage and to complete
repairs," the Coast Guard said in a prepared statement.
The 13-mile pipeline is linked to an offshore platform owned by
El Paso Corp.(EP). The line transports about 34 million cubic feet
a day of natural gas, said Enbridge spokeswoman Terri Larson. The
rupture was not expected to affect supply to Enbridge
customers.
-By Ben Lefebvre, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201;
ben.lefebvre@dowjones.com