AOG area unlikely to suffer neighborhood-destroying gas explosion

The huge natural gas line explosion that destroyed part of a neighborhood near San Francisco is not likely to happen in the Fort Smith area.

On Sept. 9, a 30-inch natural gas transmission line exploded, destroying a 28-foot section of the line, killing at least 4 people and damaging or destroying 45 homes. PG&E, the utility company that owns the line, has set up a $100 million account to help rebuild the neighborhood.

Mike Callan, president of Fort Smith-based Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp., said most of the lines that connect the utility’s more than 62,000 customers in western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma are 2- or 4-inch lines, with less than 2-inch lines typically used to connect directly to homes. The largest line they operate is 12-inch, but that is a small percentage of the line diameter in the approximately 2,500 miles of line in the AOG system, he said.

“That was a big pipeline, a main transmission line, that exploded there. We don’t have anything like that,” Callan explained.

In Arkansas, AOG operates a total of 1,683 miles of pipe, with 1,394 miles being 4 inches or less. In Oklahoma, AOG operates 806 miles of pipeline, with 624 miles of 4 inch or less in size.

Callan said the company spends about $7 million annually to maintain and monitor the system.

“AOG’s entire system is used to move gas from supply points to end use customers and is operated at much lower pressures than high pressure transmission pipelines,” he said.

Specifically, the company limits pressure on its lines to 30% or less of what the pipe is certified to handle.

Most of the damage to AOG lines is third party damage, usually from excavator digging trenches for water pipes, electric lines and other utilities.

The safety section of the AOG website provides the following basics to customers who detect a potential problem: “Natural gas is odorless and colorless so a distinctive odor is added to the gas to make it easier to detect. If you think you smell gas in your home, make sure all pilots are on and the gas range is off, open windows and doors and leave to call your local AOG office at (479) 784-2052 or toll-free at (800) 883-3181.”

Callan added that if a person detects the odor inside a building or home, they should immediately leave and then contact AOG.