Gas line operator gets ‘warning letter’

Federal pipeline regulators recently sent a “warning letter” to the operator of a relatively new natural gas pipeline on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

The Sept. 7 letter from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said a “probable violation” of pipeline safety regulations was found during a June 27 inspection of the North Fork Pipeline.

The pipeline operator is Anchor Point Energy LLC, of Denver, Colo.

The warning letter said the operator “failed to inspect and test relief devices at intervals not exceeding 15 months.”

Testing tags on relief devices known as PSV 0120 and PSV 0230 indicated they were last tested on Feb. 13, 2011, the letter said.

“PSV 0120 and PSV 0230 are relief devices designed and installed to provide overpressure protection for the North Fork ‘A’ and ‘B’ pipelines, respectively,” the letter said. “At the time of inspection, it had been greater than 16 months since the PSVs were last tested.”

The letter said a fine was possible, but the agency said it had decided not to assess a penalty and advised the operator to correct the problem.

“The situation was resolved immediately and was due to a misunderstanding with regard to the timing of the inspection,” Ed Kerr, vice president of land and business development for parent company Armstrong Cook Inlet LLC, told Petroleum News on Oct. 16.

The 7.4-mile North Fork Pipeline features two parallel lines of pipe, each with a nominal diameter of 4.5 inches. The pipeline connects Armstrong’s North Fork gas field on the southern Kenai Peninsula to Enstar’s Anchor Point Pipeline.

The North Fork Pipeline began sustained deliveries of gas on April 7, 2011. It was the first common carrier line in Alaska to use plastic composite pipe, state officials said. The Fiberspar LinePipe brand pipe has advantages over conventional steel pipe, including easier installation and corrosion resistance, they said.

—Wesley Loy