Hot Taps for In-Service Pipeline Connections

<<Natural gas transmission and distribution companies need to make new connections to pipelines many times a
year to expand or modify their existing system. Historically, this has necessitated shutting down a portion of the system and purging the gas to the atmosphere to ensure a safe connection. This procedure, referred to as a shutdown interconnect, results in methane emissions, loss of product and sales, occasionally customer inconvenience, and costs associated with evacuating the existing piping system>>

http://www.epa.gov/gasstar/pdf/lessons/ll_hottaps.pdf Received on Sat Jan 20 22:26:00 2007