Enbridge Inc. has shut a segment of one of the two pipelines that make up its Westcoast natural gas pipeline in British Columbia as a precautionary measure due to heavy flooding in the province, a company spokesman said.
Two days of torrential rain in Canada’s westernmost province triggered major flooding and mudslides and shut down road and rail routes in and out of its largest city, Vancouver.
Enbridge’s Westcoast pipeline consists of a 30-inch diameter line and 36-inch line, delivering 1.5 billion to 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcf/d) to the lower mainland of British Columbia and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.
An Enbridge spokesman said the company shut down a segment of the 30-inch pipeline in the Coquihalla river valley on Tuesday morning as a precautionary measure. The 36-inch pipeline remains in operation.
With part of the pipeline shut down, Enbridge expects to be able to deliver 1.4 bcf/d to customers, the spokesman said.
“We are continuing to monitor the situation and will take further actions should they become necessary,” Enbridge spokesman Jesse Semko said in an email.
There is no timeline on when the 30-inch segment of the pipeline will return to full service, Semko added.
(Reuters)
