Colonial Pipeline, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, delivers a daily average of 100 million US gallons (380,000 m3) of gasoline, home heating oil, aviation fuel and other refined petroleum products to communities and businesses throughout the South and Eastern United States. Colonial consists of more than 5,500 mi (8,900 km) of pipeline, originating at Houston, Texas, and terminating at New York harbor. The pipeline travels through the coastal states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Branches from the main pipeline also reach Tennessee.
The main lines are 40 inches (1,000 mm) and 36 inches (910 mm) in diameter, with one primarily devoted to gasoline and the other carrying distillate products such as jet fuel, diesel fuel, and home heating oil. The pipeline connects directly to major airports along the system. Fifteen associated tank farms store more than 1.2 billion US gallons (4,500,000 m3) of fuel and provide a 45 day supply for local communities.
Products move through the mainlines at a rate of about three to five miles (8 km)@d@x per hour. It generally takes from 14 to 24 days for a batch to get from Houston, Texas to the New York harbor, with 18.5 days the average time.[1]
Colonial Pipeline's owners include ConocoPhillips, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Koch Industries, and Royal Dutch Shell
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Following the passage of hurricane Ike in September 2008, this pipeline was operating at a severely reduced capacity due to a lack of supply from refineries that had closed, causing gasoline shortages across the Southeast.
1993 On Sunday, March 28 at 8:48, a pressurized 36-inch-diameter (910 mm) petroleum product pipeline owned and operated by Colonial Pipeline Company ruptured near Herndon, Virginia. The rupture created a geyser which sprayed diesel fuel over 75 feet (23 m) into the air, coating overhead power lines and adjacent trees, and misting adjacent Virginia Electric Power Company buildings. The diesel fuel spewed from the rupture into an adjacent storm water management pond and flowed overland and through a network of storm sewer pipes before reaching Sugarland Run Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River.
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