TransCanada resumes gas deliveries following Alberta pipeline rupture

Canadian energy firm TransCanada has restarted the delivery of gas to most of its industrial customers following an earlier pipeline rupture in northern Alberta.

The 1.6 billion cubic feet per day North Central Corridor pipeline ruptured in a remote area located around 140km west of Fort McMurray, Alberta. The rupture left some oil producers in the country scrambling to scale back production and resulted in the reduction of natural gas supplies for most of the day.

Supplies of fuel used to produce bitumen and convert it into refinery-ready synthetic crude were also reduced.

At least four major oil sands companies were forced to slow or halt output at facilities which have the capacity to produce more than 800,000 barrels per day of oil. In total, the disruption affected producers of more than half of the oil sand region’s output.

No public safety threat was expected from the leak in the pipe, which carries sweet gas that is low in poisonous hydrogen sulphide and dissipates into the atmosphere quickly.

TransCanada has not yet tracked the cause of the line break. It said that the company will determine the cause during a subsequent investigation.

The company is working with remaining customers to restore full service.

Built in 2010, the North Central Corridor line is part of Transcanada’s Nova regional natural gas pipeline system.

TransCanada’s network of wholly-owned and affiliated pipelines taps into virtually all major natural gas supply basins in North America.