Panhandle Eastern Pipeline, the natural gas pipeline that ruptured and caused a large explosion and fire March 3 north of Mexico, returned to service Tuesday after a successful hydrotest on a 15-mile stretch of the pipeline last week. Safety testing was conducted from March 31 to April 8 to verify pipeline integrity from the Centralia compressor station near Missouri Route Z to County Road 457 in Audrain County. The rupture was found to be caused by a stress corrosion crack in the pipeline. The pipeline owners, Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners, conducted four unsuccessful hydrotests on the pipeline before the Apri...
