December 2018, Vol. 245, No. 12

A large volume of work remains in the United States for multibillion-dollar infrastructure replacement programs, with many now underway and more destined to follow. In this summary report, P&GJ provides an overview of the current widespread activity.

Eight years after joining PG&E in the wake of the San Bruno explosion, Nick Stavropoulos retired as an industry role model for restoring a sense of pride at the giant San Francisco utility.

Federal and state agencies immediately jumped into action to uncover causes and preventative lessons that might be learned from the fatal September explosions, but other investigations could have implications for pipeline operations far beyond Massachusetts.

To maximize benefits, gas transporters continue to push polyethylene pipe design with more demanding applications, larger diameters and higher operating pressures. The risk of rapid crack progression and variables affecting performance must be considered when increasing the diameter and wall thickness of PE pipe.

P&GJ talks about industry priorities and challenges with Owen Reeves, 2018-2019 chairman of the American Public Gas Association (APGA), which represents more than 70% of all publicly owned natural gas utilities in the United States.

Tunisia is positioning itself to be North Africa’s next gas producing and processing hub as the country anticipates the soon-to-be completion and commissioning of the Southern Tunisian Gas Pipeline.

Non-destructive evaluation is essential to assure long-term integrity of existing pipelines, and human performance is a key element of the NDE process. This article summarizes an effort to identify human performance factors that influence NDE measurements and reliability.

The process you use to select a fabricator can make or break your project. Here are some questions every company should ask before they choose a fabricator.

Growing natural gas demand in Argentina has led its Ministry of Energy to expedite expansion of the Patagonian System and the Rio Senger and Las Armas compressor plants.

PG&J talks to Tony Radoszewski of the Plastics Pipe Institute about opportunities and challenges of supplying plastic pipe to the boom-and-bust oil and gas industry.

By James M.  Seibert, Managing Partner, Chicago Energy Associates LLC Electric and gas utility executives, and regulators are increasingly focused on the cost of the capital expenditures (capex) in transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure.   Tota..

By Joe Hollier Colorado’s oil and gas industry breathed a sigh of relief as voters rejected a proposal to require oil and gas wells be at least 2,500 feet from homes, schools, waterways and other areas deemed vulnerable. Had Proposition 112 passed it would have made the half-mile buffer state law e..

Natural Gas Utilities Testing Demand Response Programs Demand Response (DR) programs have become a fairly common method of reducing electricity demand during summer peak periods, and now the approach is being tried by natural gas utilities – most recently due to concerns about limited pipeline capa..

Valley Crossing Pipeline to Mexico Gains FERC Extension The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) awarded Enbridge subsidiary Valley Crossing Pipeline six additional months to connect its natural gas pipeline to its counterpart in Mexico, moving the deadline to April 23. The 168-mile pipelin..

Change of Class Location Draws Opposition Citizen organizations and state regulators are opposing interstate pipeline efforts to convince federal regulators to provide an alternative to the class location system, which requires pipelines to take steps when there is population growth around a pipeli..

Cowan Williams Companies appointed Debbie Cowan as senior vice president and chief human resources officer. She previously served as global director of Human Resources at John Zink Company and manager of Human Resources for Aircraft Fueling Systems. Econom..

Weldbend Begins Installation of ‘Biggest’ Tee-Press Michael Hammer, Mike Rowe, Kevin Coulas and Jimmy Coulas during a tour of the Weldbend manufacturing facility near Chicago. (Photo: Wellbend) Weldbend Corporation, manufacturer of carbon steel..

Yardley INGAA elected Bill Yardley as chairman for a one-year term. He is executive vice president of Enbridge, and president of Enbridge’s gas transmission and midstream group. Yardley is also the president and chairman of the Board of Spectra Energy Partn..

Robert J. McNally, EQT’s chief financial officer, will become president and chief executive officer of EQT and join the Board of Directors. James E. Rohr will become chairman of the board. More People News..

Williams Companies appointed Debbie Cowan as senior vice president and chief human resources officer. She previously served as global director of Human Resources at John Zink Company and manager of Human Resources for Aircraft Fueling Systems. More People News..

Weldbend Begins Installation of ‘Biggest’ Tee-Press Michael Hammer, Mike Rowe, Kevin Coulas and Jimmy Coulas during a tour of the Weldbend manufacturing facility near Chicago. (Photo: Wellbend) Weldbend Corporation, manufacturer of carbon steel..

INGAA elected Bill Yardley as chairman for a one-year term. He is executive vice president of Enbridge, and president of Enbridge’s gas transmission and midstream group. Yardley is also the president and chairman of the Board of Spectra Energy Partners, a company acquired by Enbridge in 2017. More ..

John Crane, a provider of rotating equipment solutions, recently launched its latest gas seal technology that can reduce methane emissions by up to 95% when retrofitted into centrifugal compressors

The EAG VOC Plus analyzer measures total VOCs from stationary sources with real-time continuous logging and multiple measurement ranges.

Leslie Controls’ K-Max Eccentric Plug Rotary Control Valve incorporates a cam-action, low-friction design for tight shutoff in a variety of flow control applications from high-pressure steam systems to abrasive slurries.

Trimble launched the Trimble® Nomad® 5 handheld computer, a flexible, all-in-one package that features a streamlined form factor, a 5-inch sunlight-readable touch screen and an Android 8.1 operating system.

Clock Spring Leak Stopper has been introduced as a solution for temporary leak containment on oil and gas pipelines, in refineries and petrochemical plants, and on municipal water and gas distribution lines.

John Deere's SS30 model Stump Shredder removes stumps from 8 inches to 28 inches in one pass, and larger stumps are easily removed with multiple bores.

Huntingdon Fusion’s Weld Purge Film Kits minimize gas use by reducing purge time and eliminating the need to clean a weld. They can be used on pipe diameters up to 36 inches and temperatures up to 572º F.

Antaira Technologies expanded its industrial networking infrastructure family with the introduction of the STM-60XC series of Serial to Modbus Gateways, providing a range of applications including 1, 2 and 4 serial port options.