Enbridge pipeline breaks, spills 19,500 barrels

HOUSTON - An oil pipeline break in Michigan on Monday shut part of a system carrying Canadian crude oil to the U.S. Midwest and southern Canada, Enbridge Energy Partners said. Read more: www.vancouversun.com...

That's right folks..oil is a gushing all over the damn place lately!
What i fail to understand is this,
How come 180,000 gallons can gush out before someone say turn it off?

Enbridge said the break is near Marshall, Mich., in the Lakehead System’s Line 6B, a 30-inch, 190,000 barrel per day line carrying light synthetic, heavy and medium crude oil from Griffith, Ind. to Sarnia, Ont. The cause of the release was under investigation. Read more: www.vancouversun.com...

No one was hurt, but about 19,500 barrels of oil was released into a creek that then carried the oil into the Kalamazoo River, an Enbridge news release said. Crews with skimming equipment were responding.

Enbridge hoped to have the line repaired and restarted by Wednesday, a spokesman said.

The break was east of Chicago and did not affect the big refineries in that area, but plants in Detroit, Mich.; Toledo, Lima and Canton, Ohio; and Sarnia and Nanticoke, Ont., were downstream from the break, industry sources said.

On the U.S. side, Marathon, Sunoco, BP and Husky did not respond to inquiries about their refineries. Marathon has refineries in Detroit and Canton, Ohio; Sunoco and BP have refineries in Toledo, and Husky has one in Lima.

On the Canadian side, officials of Imperial, Shell and Suncor could not say how their refineries in Ontario would be affected. The area is served by another Enbridge pipeline.

It actually gushed all day, this is the nice version...

source

Pretty sad that nature will be harmed because of our dependency on oil.

But will there ever be a way to totally prevent these kind of incidents?

Great. Another oil spill. This time its at the beach I go to

I live a couple hours from Sarina. Dead smack in the middle of southern Ontario. To hear of a oil spill around here really gets the emotions going. I will wait for the visible oil on the shorelines before i can relate to the gulfs residents.

If these places are going to keep letting it spill out all over the place, they should drop the price to their customers a bunch.

All the carelessness lately, world wide....

this is totally speculation here but these oily incidents seem a little too close together if you catch my drift. I do hereby declare shenanigans.

Originally posted by jacktherer
this is totally speculation here but these oily incidents seem a little too close together if you catch my drift. I do hereby declare shenanigans.

I do hereby agree with you..

just a little "too much" " too often" lately..

Obama started pushing Cap and Trade again this morning in a speech. Tried to tie the Gulf spill to Global Warming again. Even threw the Republicans a bone in the form of speaking out against Capital Gains taxes (yeah sure). Said that we were in danger of China cornering the Green Energy market (double yeah sure).

Is it truly a coincidence at the same time that this leak happens and a Tug Boat hits a well head? I think not.

Odd how his speech this morning is not even being discussed here. Or is it?

My question is.. How much oil can humanity keep spilling in our waterways before "enough is enough" kicks in?

man , this is getting so badd....

Good grief... If you folks knew how many miles of pipeline bisect the North American continent and how old some of them are you would be posting all kinds of hand wringing.

I would be very surprised if the leak wasn't identified by their SCADA Center within an hour or less of it occuring. A line the size of that one is monitored 24/7. Once a leak develops shut-in is initiated. You can't instantaneously stop the flow if a leak is discovered. If you do pressures in the line will surge (due to the momentum of the fluid in the line) and catastrophic failure would be possible. The line will have automated block valves at strategic locations that will be closed once the flow rate is ramped down to zero. Even so, the line will have pressure between the block valves and continued leakage is going to occur. At least until the pressure declines to zero.

There are all kinds of things that corrode pipelines. Most are unseen. Some can be determined by the use of "smart pigs" but the smart pig operation cannot be performed during normal operations. If I remember right they are required to run a smart pig once every 5 years (might be 10). Corrosion can come from internal sources (like organisms that eat oil and then excrete a substance that is corrosive to steel) or external (galvanic corrosion). Pipelines that were laid in 1914 are still in service. The alternative (which isn't even viable) would be to truck every barrel. That would decrease safety and increase the potential for environmental disaster by orders of magnitude.

[edit on 7/31/2010 by Mike6158]

reply to post by baddmove


Based on the volume that was leaked vs the capacity of the line it didn't "actually gush all day"

reply to post by Mike6158


How long does it take to gush 180,000 gallons of oil?

just wondering..

now a huge alberta to texas pipeline from the tarsands to the refineries
is facing really stiff resistance from the epa and many in the american Government.
smells oiley

TransCanada Corp., based in Calgary, Alberta, received permission on March 11 from Canada’s Energy Board to build the 327-mile Canadian portion of the Keystone XL expansion pipeline, which will be the first pipeline to take Canadian crude oil to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The 36-inch pipeline will be 1,980 miles long, beginning in Hardisty, Alberta, and going through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and finally into Texas. The $1.66-billion pipeline will carry the equivalent of 1.1 million barrels per day. Applications for U.S. regulatory approvals are proceeding, and decisions are expected late this year. TransCanada says construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2011, and the pipeline is expected to be in service in the first quarter of 2013.

enr.ecnext.com...

reply to post by Danbones


great..

1,980 miles of possible pipe breakage..

yep..good idea..

Originally posted by baddmove
reply to post by Mike6158

 

How long does it take to gush 180,000 gallons of oil?

just wondering..

How much pressure is on the line and what size is the hole?

reply to post by baddmove


Better than moving it by truck