January 2013, Vol. 240 No. 1

Oklahoma City-based Access Midstream Partners, L.P. announced Dec. 13 that it has agreed to acquire Chesapeake Midstream Operating, L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Midstream Development, L.L.C., from Chesapeake Energy Corp. for $2.16 billion in cash.

Canyon Midstream Partners, LLC has received a capital commitment of $300 million from Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors and Canyon management to support Canyon's strategy to develop, acquire and operate midstream energy assets and businesses.

DCP Midstream LLC and DCP Midstream Partners LP announced construction of a cryogenic plant that will serve growing demand from producers in the liquids-rich Eagle Ford Shale.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. said its wholly owned subsidiary, The Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road Co. (CUOH), has signed a long-term agreement to serve the $900 million natural gas liquids fractionation hub being constructed in Scio, OH by Utica East Ohio Midstream LLC.

Haddington Ventures, L.L.C. has closed its latest private equity fund, Haddington Energy Partners IV, LP (HEP IV), with total committed capital of nearly $350 million targeted for investments in midstream energy infrastructure.

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Macro Enterprises Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiaries will acquire the business owned and operated by North American Pipeline Inc. and North American Fleet Co. Ltd. of constructing, installing, maintaining, testing and repairing of oil and gas pipelines and facilities in western Canada along with other assets including pipeline construction machinery and equipment.

When Delaware Storage & Pipeline Co. agreed to participate in a field test of newly enhanced software from Siemens for its existing leak detection system, they discovered that the new solution offers a simplified, comprehensive and customizable view of pipeline operations.

Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. has agreed to acquire four operating crude oil rail terminals, one terminal under development and various contractual arrangements from U.S. Development Group for $500 million.

Targa Resources Partners will acquire 100% of Saddle Butte Pipeline, LLC's ownership of its Williston Basin crude oil pipeline and terminal system and its gas gathering and processing operations for $950 million.

Pot is in and Twinkies are out. Such a crazy world, I am thinking on this brisk Dec. 5 afternoon as the mini-bus carries six of us media types through the hinterlands of western Pennsylvania to our next stop during this state-sponsored tour of the Marcellus Shale.

This article highlights new developments and lessons learned from recent experiences in the pipeline industry in relation to 1) the selection, 2) the design, 3) the manufacturing, 4) the anti-surge systems and 4) the operation of axial compressors.

In this second of a two-part series, Senior Research Leader Brian N. Leis, Ph.D., who directs Battelle Pipeline Technology Center in Columbus, OH, discusses several projects the Center has become involved with following the recent spate of widely publicized pipeline incidents. He also talks about the Center’s work with other research entities, the effects of the shale revolution, and the future of research in including funding issues.

Between expanding markets and a wave of retirements, the energy industry faces the possibility of a worldwide shortage of labor. In the upstream oil and gas press, it has been called the “Great Crew Change.” Due to age demographics in the industry, many experienced workers will be eligible to retire in the next few years, potentially creating a drastic loss of experience and expertise that also coincides with a low number of younger individuals entering the industry.

Naples, FL--The annual meeting of the INGAA Foundation at the Ritz Carlton Naples Beach Resort Nov. 1-3 was attended by a record of more than 300 Foundation members and guests. Officials said at least 40 more would-be attendees had to cancel because of the damages caused by Hurricane Sandy earlier in the week.

This article is excerpted from a presentation concerning mechanical, microstructural and electrochemical evaluation of girth welds of welded API 5L X-52 steel pipe with one, two, three and four SMAW repairs in the same area. According to the results obtained, it can be concluded that:

Hannibal Pipes SA was established in 2009 and designed to become the first state-of-the-art Spirally Welded Steel Pipe Mill in the South of Spain serving the local market as well as the international one with particular respect to Mediterranean area.

Increasing production and continuing opportunity for the oil and gas markets were the focus of “A New World of Opportunity,” Deloitte’s 2012 oil and gas conference held Nov. 13 in Houston.

Other than when dealing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, it takes longer to gain the necessary interstate gas pipelines permits from federal agencies than it did prior to the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, according to a new study by INGAA Foundation.

When Nick Stavropoulos, executive vice president in charge of natural gas operations at San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) looks back on his 33 years in the industry that have spanned the country, he remembers all the oil burned in homes and businesses throughout the Northeast where he grew up.

You can’t escape the irony. Ohio is doing better. Jobs are coming back and they are energy jobs. No, not from wind, battery and electric cars, but from oil and gas. Ohio is already well along its way to a jobs recovery in large measure from a hydrocarbon boom.

<em>P&GJ</em>’s 2013 survey figures indicate 116,837 miles of pipelines are planned and under construction worldwide. Of these, 83,806 represent projects in the planning worldwide design phase while 33,031 reflect various stages of construction.

No matter what you may hear tonight, tomorrow or the next day, the story is going to change. That’s the state of our industry today and if our industry, government lawmakers and regulators handle development properly, this really can recharge our economic engine for years to come.

The transformation potential of shale oil and gas to the American energy, manufacturing, chemical, and pipeline industries is nothing short of revolutionary. As part of this revolution, the U.S. can form a competitive advantage versus other global economies lasting for the next generation… if government leaders and entrepreneurs demonstrate the courage necessary to tread this path.

TMK IPSCO is one of the largest North American producers of welded and seamless pipe and premium connections for the oil and gas industry as well as industrial markets. It operates 11 state-of-the-art facilities located in key energy-producing regions of North America.

The revolution in unconventional oil and gas production is fundamentally changing the U.S. energy outlook, generating significant job creation, economic growth and government revenues, according to a new IHS, Inc. study.

One company making an undeniable splash in the North American pipe business is V&M Star, a joint venture between Vallourec, France (80%) and Summitomo Corp., Japan (20%). On Nov. 5, 2012 the company showed its faith in the long-term development of the shale revolution with the opening of a $1 billion state-of-the-art steel mill in strategically located Youngstown, OH.

Natural resource industries are well versed in the regulatory and rule-making impact of government agencies. Not as well understood and sometimes not even considered in decision making are the many private sector environmental concerned organizations like the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, or Greenpeace.

The Department of Energy published a report from NERA Economic Consulting which concludes unlimited exports of U.S. LNG will help the U.S. economy, and the greater the exports, the greater the public good.

The IHS Canadian Oil Sands Dialogue has updated its 2010 report comparing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from fuels made from Canadian oil sands to those from other crude sources.

A 20-inch natural gas pipeline exploded near Charleston, WV Dec. 11, setting nearby buildings on fire and injuring several people, authorities said. The blast, on Nisource Gas Transmission and Storage’s Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline, occurred 1 p.m. near Sissonville, about 10 miles north of Charleston.

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP, as operator and 35% owner of Crestwood Marcellus Midstream LLC, announced an agreement by CMM to acquire natural gas compression and dehydration assets from Enerven Compression, LLC for $95 million.

ITG Investment Research announced the release of a survey of leading buyside energy investors which indicated that the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas ranked as the leading North American play.

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. and Regency Energy Partners LP recently announced that the Lone Star West Texas Gateway NGL Pipeline is in service. The 570-mile, 16-inch pipeline owned by Lone Star NGL LLC, a joint venture between the two partnerships, transports natural gas liquids produced in the Permian and Delaware basins in West Texas to Mont Belvieu. The West Texas Gateway was originally scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2013.

Current oil reserves are likely to run out by 2034, but new ways to tap unconventional oil and gas reserves could add more than 250 years’ worth of resources, Lux Research said in its recent report, “The Race to Replace Reserves.”

The Grand Forks Herald reports the Sporting and Oil Industry Forum has developed guidelines for North Dakota oil and gas producers to help decrease environmental impacts.

Spectra Energy Corp announced Dec. 11 an agreement to buy Express-Platte Pipeline System from Borealis Infrastructure, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners for $1.49 billion.

TEAK Midstream L.L.C. has begun operation of more than 250 miles of gas gathering and residue delivery pipelines and the adjoining Silver Oak 200 MMcf/d cryogenic gas processing plant in South Texas to serve gas producers operating in the Eagle Ford play and surrounding area.

International Pipelines reports that Japanese companies are willing to invest $5 billion to construct a 1,400-km gas pipeline running directly from Sakhalin to Ibaraki Prefecture (near Tokyo).

BP PLC is reportedly in talks with the OAO Gazprom-led Nord Stream pipeline consortium that ships Russian natural gas into Europe, over an extension of the link to carry the gas straight into the UK.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPS) 1,511-km Tengiz-Novorossiysk Pipeline was shut down for 72 hours to tie-in new equipment and replace block valves in an effort to increase the pipeline’s capacity.

DCP Midstream LLC and DCP Midstream Partners LP announced construction of a cryogenic plant in Goliad, TX that will serve growing demand from producers in the liquids-rich Eagle Ford shale.

Enbridge Pipelines Inc. has reached agreement with shippers on the terms of a $1.8 billion expansion of its mainline system between Edmonton and Hardisty, Alberta.

Gazprom's Management Committee has finalized its investment decisions for the Chayandinskoye field pre-development and associated gas processing and transmission, and the Hungarian section of the South Stream gas pipeline project.

The “map” of natural gas around the world is changing dramatically and the consequences will be of great importance for Japan, said IHS Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin.

APA Group announced a gas transportation agreement with EnergyAustralia Pty Ltd. The agreement provides for delivery of gas sourced from Victoria into New South Wales via APA’s Moomba Sydney Pipeline and Victorian Transmission System.

Gazprom broke ground Dec. 14 on construction of South Stream gas pipeline in Russia. The final go-ahead was reached in November when Bulgaria, agreed to construction of the pipeline on its soil. Turkey last year granted Gazprom permission to run the pipeline under the Black Sea in its territorial waters.

To reduce the environmental impacts and improve the economic performance of their U.S. unconventional gas production activities, energy developer Seneca Resources Corp. and drilling partner Ensign Drilling have installed two of GE’s Jenbacher gas engines to power the first LNG-fueled drilling rigs of their kind in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was awarded a contract from Santos GLNG Project in Australia to provide support for its coal seam gas field development. Officials said the duration of the contract is three and a half years with a one-year extension option.

El Paso Natural Gas (EPNG), owned by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. and Kinder Morgan, Inc., has entered into a 25-year transportation precedent agreement in connection with plans to build a pipeline to serve customers in Mexico.

ONEOK Partners did not receive sufficient long-term transportation commitments during its recently concluded open season for the Bakken Crude Express Pipeline. As a result, the partnership will not to proceed with plans to build the pipeline.

Ryckman Creek Resources, LLC, a subsidiary of Peregrine Midstream Partners LLC, recently concluded its non-binding open season for firm natural gas storage service at its high-deliverability, multi-cycle (HDMC) natural gas storage facility in Uinta County, WY.

Piedmont Natural Gas, through its wholly owned subsidiary Piedmont Constitution Pipeline Company, LLC, joined Williams Partners L.P. and Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation as a 24% equity participant in a joint venture project to construct the Constitution Pipeline, and will invest an estimated $180 million in the project.

Rosneft and ExxonMobil signed a Pilot Development Agreement establishing a joint project to commercial production of tight oil reserves at the Bazhenov and Achimov formations in western Siberia.

Russian companies appear eager to gain new ground in Africa and plan to build two pipelines on the continent. The firms pursuing projects in the Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe are Rosneft and privately held Stroitransgaz.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC will invest around $1 billion annually in its upstream business in China to tap into the country's surging natural gas demand, state-run newspaper China Daily reported.

Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc. held an open season inviting parties interested in firm transportation capacity on the Straight Blackwell Expansion to submit bids by Dec. 7.

Statoil and Wintershall have a 10-year gas sales agreement for the delivery of 45 Bcm to the German and other Northwest European markets.

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. and Regency Energy Partners LP have placed the West Texas Gateway NGL Pipeline in service.

Williams Partners has received FERC approval to expand its Transco pipeline to provide an additional 250,000 Dth/d of incremental firm natural gas transportation capacity to serve growing markets in the Northeast by November 2013.

Wood Group Mustang has completed the Phase 1 concept study for Ecopetrol's Oledocucto del Pacifico pipeline to transport crude from the oil-rich Llanos, Caguan and Putumayo basin of eastern Colombia across the Andes Mountains to either Tumaco, in Nariño province or Buenaventura, in Valle del Cauca province, Colombia's two largest Pacific ports.