Gas Pipeline Sabotage in Canada

I have been following the press reports from Canada, in northeast British Columbia, about two gas pipeline explosions up there that have been attributed to sabotage. While the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) do not know who is behind the explosions, they are leaning towards someone with environmental concerns. Also, since the blasts have not caused significant damage, some industry people speculate they are more warnings than truly trying to cause a rupture which would be devastating. Since this is "sour" natural gas, an explosion can release a cloud of toxic gas (Hydrogen Sulfide) when it breaches containment, unlike the natural gas we will have in the REX pipeline. Thank God for small favors! But, if a nut case decides to do something like that around the high pressure REX line, the area within 2,400 to 3,000 square foot diameter (called the "thermal blast zone") would be burned by the intense heat it would generate. It would not be a pretty sight. As we all know, there will be no security along the pipeline, so it is an easy target and everyone must always be vigilant, for their own good.
Here is a link to one recent story and I pasted it below:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081019/pipeline_explosion_081019/20081019?hub=TopStories

Gas pipelines vulnerable to terrorism: expert
Updated Sun. Oct. 19 2008 10:39 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff

Two recent gas pipeline bombings in B.C. demonstrate how vulnerable Canada's energy installations are to a terror attack, a security expert says.

Explosions have damaged two EnCana pipelines over the past week, and the RCMP's anti-terror unit is investigating.

"I think that the alarm bells are going off and that is indicated by the fact that the RCMP are bringing in the people who deal with terrorism to look at this," Mercedes Stephenson, a military analyst, told CTV Newsnet Sunday.

She said that there are 2,000 wells around Calgary and most of them are unmonitored, and a easy target.

Stephenson said that the cost of protecting the pipelines would be immense and that gas companies would have feel terrorism was a significant possibility before investing in pipeline security.

"To justify that kind of cost-benefit analysis they're going to have to believe the threat is very real and long-term," she said.

Stephenson said one of the reasons there hasn't been much security invested into gas pipelines is because it's not "mass casualty terrorism."

"You don't blow up part of a pipeline and kill lots of people . . . you disrupt the economy," she said.

She said that Alberta supplies more than 90 per cent of California's natural gas supply.
"You are not disrupting just Canada but you are disrupting Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego."

Stephenson said the Alberta government could put money towards the pipelines' protection but that EnCana is ultimately the one that needs to put resources in.

"It's in everyone interests to keep our economy strong, especially in this economic downturn," she said.

The investigation

Sgt. Tim Shields said the investigation has focused on the area near the second blast, located east of Dawson Creek, near the Alberta border.

The force's explosives unit, national terrorism team and local search crews, are conducting a grid search of the area.

"We've seized a number of exhibits and it's just too early to tell if any of them will lead to something that might lead to a break in the case," Shields told The Canadian Press Sunday.
"We have to seize and analyze every piece of evidence no matter how small or insignificant it looks."

Investigators said they are interested in a truck that was spotted leaving the scene of the explosion at 6 a.m. Thursday,

There have been conflicting descriptions of the truck, Shields said.

"The explosion likely happened a number of hours before (the truck was spotted)," he said. "The description of the truck is somewhat vague ... but we're just trying to firm up exactly what type of truck that might have been before we go any further with it."

The two blasts - one last weekend and one on Wednesday - were followed by a threatening letter sent to the local media.