It could be another natural-gas pipeline or an electric utility, in the U.S. or outside.

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Investors in the so-called public-private partnership include Russian Railways, national power utility Unified Energy System and state-controlled pipeline operator Transneft.

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The largest issues facing pipeline safety today come from the actions of third parties completely unrelated to the actual operation of the pipeline, such as construction projects, excavation, utility work, planning and zoning decisions near pipelines, and even homeowners.

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At the same time Priory was looking for a partner in the gas business, Paul Anderson , chief executive of Panenergy, a big Houston gas pipeline company once known as Panhandle Eastern, was looking for a utility.

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CMS's Consumers Energy unit has 626 miles of cast- and wrought-iron pipeline in its gas system, or about 2.4 percent of the utility's total distribution system.

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In that situation, the National Transportation Safety Board assigned much of the blame on the utility, saying that it had no methods in place to detect structural weaknesses in its pipeline.

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At the same time Priory was looking for a partner in the gas business, Paul Anderson, the CEO of Panenergy, a big gas pipeline company in Houston, Texas, once known as Panhandle Eastern, was looking for a utility.

FORBES: Trading places