Peru Gas Pipeline Rupture Follows Years of Regulatory Warnings
A major gas pipeline rupture in Peru that disrupted national supply followed years of regulatory warnings over landslides, erosion and maintenance failures, according to government records.
(Reuters) — A pipeline rupture that crippled Peru's energy grid in March followed years of documented warnings from regulators to pipeline operator TGP about dealing with landslides, erosion, and construction flaws in the system that moves about 95% of the country's gas, according to government records reviewed by Reuters.
Over 75 reports from Peru's OEFA environmental regulator and the OSINERGMIN energy and mines regulator dating to 2005 show at least 13 documented failures and repeated warnings to TGP about those risks, and the company's failure to implement proper monitoring programs, control erosion, and make timely repairs to the system.
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March's rupture triggered the worst energy crisis in the nation in two decades as TGP was forced to cut gas deliveries by nearly 90%. Peru's government declared a 14-day state of emergency, urging companies to have employees work at home while schools switched to remote learning.
In a response to Reuters, TGP said the rupture in the 730 km (453-mile) line happened during a programmed preventative inspection at a valve station in the Megantoni district in Cusco, and that the investigation is still underway.
"Based on the objective information available to date, we know the event originated from a leak in a system component associated with one of the valves in the liquid line," the company said.
"Prior to this work, there had been no indications of anomalies in the pipelines or in the adjacent facilities."
A 2020 OSINERGMIN annual report, however, documented a serious leak at that same valve station that year, forcing TGP to install a temporary two-pipe bypass and replace the valve.
Five Ruptures in Three Years
The pipeline originates in Peru's remote Camisea gas field in the Amazon jungle and traverses the Andes mountains before descending to the country's coastal capital of Lima, where about a third of the population lives.
The terrain is unstable and prone to landslides and erosion, and the line has been plagued by ruptures since it first went into service in 2004, with five in the first three years of operation that sparked a 2006 congressional inquiry.
Several other ruptures have occurred since, many in areas with known risks. A 2016 incident occurred along the same stretch of the pipeline in the Megantoni district where March's rupture happened.
At that time, regulators determined that TGP had internally rated the area as "high risk," but failed to install enough reinforcements or drainage.
Another incident in 2012 happened just 130 meters away from the 2016 event, but the company did not conduct geotechnical investigations or implement an adequate monitoring system after that, according to the documents.
Since 2015, TGP requested a declaration of force majeure in five separate incidents, citing natural events or security issues that would legally absolve it of responsibility for deliveries not made. The government has rejected those claims as the company was found to have not taken adequate steps to mitigate risks, the reports said.
Following a 2018 rupture near the pipeline's gathering system, OEFA found that TGP had known about recurring landslide problems in that area since 2004, but did not implement adequate monitoring or slope stabilization.
High-Risk Hazards
One OEFA sanction from November 2019 notes that 11 of 13 failures in the country's parallel 540-km (335-mile) natural gas liquids line were caused by landslides, soil creep or erosion, hazards regulators classified as high-risk along multiple stretches of the pipeline.
In several cases, TGP's own inspections detected ground cracks within meters of where ruptures later occurred, the records show.
In reports, the company said it sealed surface cracks with "agropol," a polyethylene film, to prevent water infiltration and erosion on about 300 occasions. OEFA said the practice was systematic, lacked in-depth analysis and in lieu of adequate prevention measures.
Regulators noted that plastic the company uses to cover up cracks was found in the landslide that caused the 2018 rupture, while PMAC, a local community environmental monitor, had noted failures in the drainage system in the area since 2015.
TGP did not reply to questions about the actions it has taken to address geological hazards and whether it continued to use plastic and agropol to repair cracks. The company did not reply to questions about reports of exposed pipeline segments and the qualifications of workers carrying out maintenance when the rupture occurred.
OSINERGMIN and OEFA did not reply to a request for comment about the investigation into the March event.
TGP, owned by a consortium including EIG Global Energy, Spain's Enagas and Algeria's Sonatrach, asked OSINERGMIN to extend a 15-day deadline after the rupture to present a report claiming force majeure, but the regulator declined the request in late March.
EIG, which acquired 49.9% of the company in December, did not respond to a request for comment. Enagas and Sonatrach did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
The incident has revived concerns about the country's fragile energy security ahead of June's general election.