Colonial Pipeline Fuels The Eastern U.S. (North Fulton Herald)

By Hatcher Herd, North Fulton Herald

North Fulton Article Link

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Colonial Pipeline President and CEO Tim Felt has an important job that affects the lives and livelihoods of 50 million people — residents throughout the Southeast and the Eastern Seaboard — but few know what that job is.

Felt came to the April 21 Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce’s Coffee and Commerce breakfast at the Crooked Creek Golf Club in Alpharetta to tell guests about Colonial Pipeline.

Quite simply, Colonial is responsible for 110 million gallons of fuel a day that flows from Houston to New York, bringing gasoline – regular and high test, jet fuel and heating oil. Colonial serves 74 percent of Atlanta residents and 45 percent of the eastern United States.

Technology makes it possible to send and track all forms of fuel through the same pipeline.

Colonial does not refine the fuel nor does it handle natural gas. It transports products across 13 states safely and efficiently while ensuring the safety of the communities Colonial serves and the environment.

It takes 18 days for 1 gallon of fuel to travel from Houston to New York. 

“We manage 5,500 miles of pipeline, and we are heavily regulated by the federal government – which is a good thing,” Felt said.

What? A CEO who does not complain about too much government regulation? Felt says the consequences of failure are not worth any savings skimping on safety might bring. Colonial welcomes federal oversight as a partnership in delivering fuel to the customers.

“The Gulf Coast produces 8.8 million barrels of fuel daily and Colonial transports 2.6 million of those barrels. For that transmission, Colonial gets 2.7 cents a gallon,” he said.

So it behooves Colonial to protect its investment and it will spend a quarter-billion dollars this year on safety and maintenance of its pipelines (see box). It spent $250 million on safety and maintenance in 2015, and the company plans to spend even more in 2017. 

“When it comes to safety, we exceed what is expected,” Felt said. ​“We try to learn and grow every day. We took a close look at what happened to BP off the Gulf Coast. There are a lot of similarities in the way we do business. So we took another look at what can happen.”

The cost put into safety is well worth it to protect customers, the environment, multiple government bodies and the company’s own reputation for integrity, said Felt.

“If we had an incident, any money that was saved by skimping on safety would be gone immediately,” he said.

Safety in the eyes of Colonial is not only a moral requirement but simply good business as well.

That means weekly aerial inspections to see if there are any visible signs of effects on the flora above the pipelines or in the rivers under which pipelines travel. But that is only the beginning.

Electronic sensors give the company feedback on every mile of pipe. Automated inspection protocols also measure the rate of flow and will warn of any leaks.

In the event of any kind of failure of the pipeline, the reaction would be a ​“company event.” Any or all of the 880 employees would be on call to respond and all personnel train regularly in dealing with those responses.

“We know what our responsibilities are. We move the energy that moves the country. Colonial is a critical piece of the nation’s infrastructure and our approach is long term,” Felt said.

Asked what the company does to counter the threat of domestic terrorism, Felt said the state of the world demands the company be as prepared as possible.

“We have to defend against cyberterror as well,” he said. ​“We have 5,500 miles of pipeline, but most of it is underground and only surfaces in a few areas. We are always working with Homeland Security to evaluate our level of security.”