June 2012 Vol. 239 No. 6

Atlas Copco Compressors Product Company has dedicated a new 96,000 square foot facility in Houston, housing customer relations for North and South America as well as producing a wide range of air compressors, dryers and skid packages. The new building brings together 150 employees from several Atlas Copco subsidiaries under one roof to create its largest office in the United States.

Advertisers from the print edition of Pipeline & Gas Journal, June 2012, Vol. 239, No. 6.

An issue is beginning to crop up again that we haven’t heard much about recently. Somewhat hidden by the enduring economic slowdown and 8% unemployment rate, we may have been led to think that the workforce issue in the oil and gas industry was no longer a serious problem.

There are over 2 million km of oil and gas production pipelines worldwide and ensuring the effective and efficient flow of products through these pipelines makes a huge difference in revenues generated.

For pipeline owners and operators, efforts to mitigate or control internal corrosion generally fall into one or more of a handful of strategies. Moisture content control seeks to limit the amount of moisture (as measured in grains of water per million cubic feet of product, or by dew point) to eliminate the electrolyte for corrosion cells to develop.

This article considers the bypass method for capacity control in reciprocating compressors. The method is the oldest in controlling outlet capacity, which is used in all types of compressors for turndown capacity between 100% and zero.

Development of oil and natural gas in the Eagle Ford Shale contributed $25 billion in total economic output to the region in 2011, according to a study by the Center for Community and Business Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development (UTSA).

There has been an "active series" of cyber attacks on natural gas pipeline companies' computer networks over the past four months, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

After a handful of years when unemployment prevented acceptance of new members, the Local 825 branch of the International Union of Operating Engineers has returned to a tradition of member training it has been practicing since the early ’60s - to an enthusiastic response.

After a look back on another active hurricane season in 2011, we will detail the North Atlantic basin tropical forecast for 2012. The forecast will examine the impact of factors ranging from sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to winter rainfall over western Africa. All of these factors point to a normal Atlantic hurricane season.

The quality and composition of fuel burned in a gas turbine impacts the life of the turbine, particularly its combustion system and turbine section. The fuel specified for a given application is usually based on availability and price. Natural gas is a typical fuel of choice for gas turbines due to its low cost, widespread availability, and low resulting emissions. Lately, compression requirements in shale gas fields have drawn attention to the capability of gas turbines to burn fuels with higher than normal levels of heavier hydrocarbons.

The INGAA Foundation held its 2012 Spring Meeting in San Antonio, TX April 11-13, with the largest attendance yet on record for the event at 273 attendees. The meeting featured updates on regulatory and safety matters, a keynote speech from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the annual Planning and Studies meeting, which allows members to vote on which proposals should be considered for the foundation’s agenda in the next year.

Pipeline & Gas Journal, in partnership with the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), held its eighth annual Pipeline Opportunities Conference April 4 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.

Midstream development companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in developing the pipeline needed to move the products produced in the Eagle Ford Shale region to the refineries and processing plants located in close areas.

The North American natural gas producing industry is “under siege.” The current price is far below the full cycle cost to replace gas that is produced and sold. The details of the predicament are described. With this article, I want to start with some of my solutions first.

The National Association of Pipe Coating Applicators (NAPCA) heard good news about the volume of 2012 pipeline work expected in North America and elsewhere during the association’s 48th annual meeting in April in Tucson, AZ.

When we think of preventing third-party damage we immediately think of calling 811, digging safely, locating accurately and keeping accurate up-to-date records and maps. While all of these are very important, preventing third-party damage must begin from the time we install our utilities in the ground.

When problems threatened a segment of the eight-mile Edwards to Meadow Mountain natural gas pipeline upgrade in Colorado, Fugal Pipeline Project Manager Brady Hansen had to make a decision.

No economic development plan is ever complete without its economic impact study. This is then a statistical presentation outlining the benefits of a stadium or an event to the local economy. No group has been more aggressive or effective in generating these models than the public stadium and arena development industry.

Lightening does strike twice at times! First bolt was the Keystone XL pipeline to bring crude oil from the Canadian tar sands down to the Gulf Coast for refining and marketing. Now, the new bolt is a decision to allow domestic natural gas producers to turn surplus natural gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export shipment.

ConocoPhillips became into two smaller companies on May 1.ConocoPhillips is now the world’s largest oil exploration and production company while the refineries, chemicals and pipelines were spun off into a new company, Phillips 66. Both companies are headquartered in Houston.

On the heels of its purchase of Southern Union Group, Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners announced April 30 plans to acquire Sunoco for $5.3 billion.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States authorized a $2.95 billion direct loan to support U.S. exports to the Australia Pacific LNG project.

GE Energy has announced a $10 million investment to develop a new Oil & Gas Training Facility to support and advance training and development for customers and employees.

Kinder Morgan, Inc. has received approval for its pending acquisition of El Paso Corp. from the Federal Trade Commission, subject to divestiture of certain Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. assets. The FTC terminated the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period, clearing the way for the companies to close the transaction as anticipated in late May.

The native-owned corporation that would control a third of the long-delayed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline is open to discussing the idea of a liquefied natural gas project that would allow the resource to be shipped to Asia to kickstart development.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Octavio Simoes, president of Sempra Energy's LNG operations, announced that Sempra has secured the third and final commercial agreement to develop a $6 billion natural gas liquefaction export facility at the site of Sempra's existing Cameron LNG receiving terminal in Hackberry, LA.

On May 4, Volvo Construction Equipment broke ground on the first phase of the $100 million expansion of its site in Shippensburg, PA. The first phase includes construction of a new America’s headquarters office.

A $5 billion cost escalation has hit British gas giant BG Group's Gladstone coal-seam gas export project amid rising local costs, increased regulatory hurdles and a surging Australian dollar.

Nearly a dozen major energy companies, including Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell have developed standards for hydraulic fracturing in the Appalachian region as federal regulators look to answer concerns with tightened drilling rules, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Quoting a source from the World Bank, Reuters reported that the U.S. shale energy boom is fueling a rise in the burning of waste gas after years of decline. Global gas flaring increased by about 70 Bcf in 2011, the first rise since 2008, preliminary data from the World Bank shows.

Fourteen companies, including Gazprom and three other Russian firms, are bidding to acquire DEPA and its fully owned subsidiary DESFA, the Greek state-controlled gas transportation systems. Additionally, Gazprom is targeting Greece’s dominant oil company, Hellenic Petroleum, part-owner of DEPA, for possible acquisition.

Japan's national government will study a plan to lay an underwater pipeline from Russia for gas deliveries.

MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. has signed two major agreements related to its ongoing development of the Marcellus Shale.

DCP Midstream has more than $2 billion of capital investment under way in the Midcontinent, significantly enhancing its leading position in the area as the largest gatherer and processor of natural gas. The growth projects will supply producers with full-value chain service, including NGL takeaway services to the premium Mont Belvieu, TX market.

Aqua America Inc. and Penn Virginia Resource Partners, L.P. completed an 18-mile pipeline to supply fresh water to certain natural gas producers drilling in the Marcellus Shale in north-central Pennsylvania.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, recently recognized NiSource Inc. for its pipeline infrastructure modernization and replacement investment at a conference in Pittsburgh.

The Nord Stream Project took another step forward May 8 with completion of offshore pipelay of the second of its twin 1,224-km gas pipelines through the Baltic Sea ahead of schedule.

Pakistan authorized the Interstate Gas Systems (ISGS) to execute the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project's Gas Sale Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with Turkmenistan.

Rosneft and ExxonMobil have signed agreements to implement a long-term Strategic Cooperation Agreement to jointly explore for and develop oil and natural gas in Russia and to share technology and expertise.

Analysts with Great American Group LLC, a provider of asset disposition, valuation and appraisal services, believe that falling natural gas prices may have a significant impact on the domestic petrochemical industry in 2012 and beyond.

Williams Partners L.P. has completed its $2.4 billion acquisition of Caiman Energy’s wholly owned subsidiary, Caiman Eastern Midstream, LLC, giving it a significant footprint and growth potential in the natural gas liquids-rich portion of the Marcellus Shale. Williams owns 68% of Williams Partners, including the general-partner interest.

Williams Partners L.P. continues to gauge interest for the remaining capacity on Atlantic Access, a proposed expansion of its Transco interstate pipeline.

Kepware has developed a new communications interface allowing you to monitor and manage measurements in real-time from your down hole drilling process.

Celerity Consulting Group provides data management and analysis services to companies facing information challenges with a focus on regulated industries and natural gas pipelines.

Kepware has listened and is delivering a reliable and affordable EFM (Electronic Flow Measurement) solution to complement their existing KEPServerEX OPC Server for the Oil & Gas Industry.