Colonial Increases Pipeline Performance, Ups Flow To Northeast

ATLANTA, Ga. — Colonial Pipeline today announced it has successfully increased the capacity of its Line 2 that ships distillate petroleum products from Houston, TX to Greensboro, NC. 

Colonial completed the first phase on November 14, 2000, which added 60% of the new capacity planned for Line 2. The second phase will be completed in the next several days and will bring Line 2 to its new design capacity. 

“We are excited by this growth,” said Dave Lemmon, President and CEO of the Atlanta-based company. ​“We are in a position to safely transport more volume at this time, and I think this is especially important with the high demand for heating oil in the Northeast. We’re in daily contact with our shippers to help them better serve the consumer.” 

“More importantly, we have undertaken this significant expansion project with the ultimate in care and attention to safety. Our system has been tested and tested again to protect the safety of the communities our pipeline travels through and the environment.” 

“We performed an extremely thorough evaluation of the pipeline before we increased the flow,” said Bill Scott, Colonial’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. 

“We assured ourselves and our regulators that we could increase the capacity safely. This approach is consistent with our strategy to operate Colonial in a spill-free, error-free manner. That is what government regulators expect of us, what the communities our pipelines travel through expect of us, and frankly, what we expect of ourselves.” 

The Line 2 expansion is one of several areas of new growth for Colonial during 2000. With TransMontaigne, Colonial opened a barge-dock facility in Baton Rouge, La. that increases service to the Midwest. Colonial announced the purchase of Alliance Products Pipeline System in Mississippi and Louisiana earlier this year. 

Colonial is committed to safe operations as it transports an average of 80 million gallons of product a day. In addition to gasoline and home heating oil, Colonial transports diesel fuel, military fuels, aviation fuel and kerosene.