A manufacturer’s defect in an elbow fitting has been identified as the cause of the hydrotesting disruption that occurred on a section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia on May 1, 2024, according to independent third-party lab testing and analysis. A final report, which has been posted via filing to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission docket, notes there was no evidence of external or internal corrosion.
Hydrotesting, an element of the overall commissioning readiness process for pipeline infrastructure projects, is a pressure test that involves filling the pipe with water. One purpose is to prove the integrity of a test section prior to introducing product to the pipeline.
With the replacement of the affected fitting and a sister fitting, which was proactively removed from the same test section, all fittings and all pipe on the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline successfully passed hydrotesting to at least 125 percent of the pipeline’s maximum allowable operating pressure.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline began operating on June 14, 2024. The project provides cost-effective access to natural gas for use by local distribution companies, industrial users, and power generation facilities in the growing demand markets of the mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States. The 42-inch diameter underground interstate natural gas transmission pipeline is designed to carry up to 2 Bcf of natural gas per day from the Marcellus and Utica shale production regions to these demand markets.