March 2018, Vol. 245, No. 3

SkyX Systems drone completes 62-mile aerial pipeline inspection in Mexico.

When a multinational an energy and services company planned to decommission an onshore gas terminal in northwest England, it required a fast, total solution that would avoid depressurizing and blowing down a 25-mile (40-km), 36-inch gas pipeline that runs from an offshore field through north and sou..

As Adrian Garza, a vice president and senior analyst in Mexico City for Moody’s Investors Service, assessed, the dynamic energy infrastructure landscape south of the border 2018 promises to be “noisy.” And when several hundred industry stakeholders gathered for the 3rd Mexico Infrastructure Projects..

On Dec. 11, a hairline crack 5 to 6 inches long was detected during a routine inspection of the Forties Pipeline System (FPS) near Netherley, just south of Aberdeen, Scotland. As a result, the pipeline’s new owner, Ineos, announced a shut-down, anticipating weeks for repairs. The suspension of this..

As we embark on 2018, one of the biggest challenges for oil and gas companies is the rate at which technology has advanced, outpacing the ability of companies to adopt and leverage new innovation to their advantage. Most oil and gas companies would likely agree data management and the lack of clear..

Contractor and supplier information management company ISN released its inaugural Contractor Management Survey, which found, not surprisingly, that improving safety performance of both employees and contractors is the top priority for 2018. Among the 161 companies responding to the survey, 56% were ..

By selecting proper materials and implementing a robust maintenance program, the rate of corrosion in power distribution equipment can be slowed down.

Back in 1943, NACE International was established in Houston by 11 engineers focused on cathodic protection (CP) to address metal pipeline degradation. Now, 36,000-plus members strong, NACE has evolved into a worldwide organization that is involved in every industry and area of corrosion prevention a..

Tenaris completes construction on a 1.2 million-square-foot mill in Bay City, Texas that incorporates a high level of automation and cutting edge technologies into its production of seamless pipe.

Numerous crude oil pipeline construction projects are currently underway as the Permian Basin nears its takeaway capacity.

“Each one of us must make his own path through life. There are no self-help manuals, no formulas, no easy answers. The right road for one is the wrong road for another … The journey of life is not paved in blacktop; it is not brightly lit, and it has no road signs. It is a rocky path through the wil..

It is essential for utilities to develop great relationships with those working on their pipeline construction projects.

P&GJ: What are some of the more challenging aspects to constructing a new pipeline? Wolf: Getting all the required and necessary permits while managing public perception. Public opposition to pipelines seems to be growing more and more, so it’s important not only to make the regulators see the valu..

New research by DNV GL, a technical advisor to the oil and gas industry, shows an increased expectation for the approval of new offshore pipeline projects over the next three years, up from 27% in 2017 to 38% this year. Just over a third of those surveyed (35%) anticipate new pipeline projects onsho..

Lori Traweek is in her 25th year at the American Gas Association (AGA), where she now serves as senior vice president and chief operating officer. Among her vast responsibilities in this role, she’s responsible for making sure the association is ready and ab..

PHMSA set to move ahead with pipeline safety regulation rule making proceedings with new administrator in place.

An overview of the latest technology that can be utilized during pipeline construction projects.

Anthony McMullan has been hired by Burns & McDonnell to support a variety of pipeline projects out of the Atlanta office. He has a decade of engineering and project management experience, and will be involved with transmission pipelines, distribution, in-line inspection upgrades, as well as other na..

John Loiacono, director of commercial services for the Enbridge, has been elected chairman of the Texas Pipeline Association (TPA). The association made the announcement last Friday at its annual meeting, held at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Houston. He has Loiacono has 27 years of experi..

Linda Capuano took over as administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). As EIA’s ninth administrator, Capuano is responsible for directing the nation’s primary energy statistical and analytical agency. Prior to her appointment as EIA Administrator, Capuano was the fellow in ene..

Brian Coffman has been named new president and CEO of Motiva Enterprises. He replaced Dan Romasko on Jan. 22. Before coming to Motiva, Coffman was the senior vice president of refining at San Antonio-based Andeavor Corp., formerly Tesoro Corp. He had been with that company ..

Bruce Niemeyer has become Chevron Corporation’s corporate vice president of the Strategic Planning, effective immediately. Niemeyer previously served as vice president of Chevron’s Mid-Continent Business Unit. ..

Pipe and process cleaning specialist Pipetech appointed Gavin Booth as sales manager for U.K. and Holland, and Thomas Karlsen as sales manager of Scandinavia. The new additions add more than 20 years of oil and gas experience to Pipetech.    ..

Darin Hittle is the new president and CEO of rights-of-way and land management company Contract Land Staff.  Hittle has over a decade a decade of senior management and business development experience, primarily recently in leadership roles at the Wood Group and LW Survey Co.  ..

After 10 years,  API President and CEO Jack Gerard said he will step down when his current contract ends in August. Until then, he will continue to direct the association’s work and assist in the search for a new CEO. Since Gerard joined API in 2008, membership grew by almost 50% and added members f..

Northwoods Energy has agreed to buy SM Energy’s core Powder River Basin assets. The acquisition is comprised of over 112,200 predominantly contiguous net acres of leasehold in Converse, Campbell, and Johnson counties in Wyoming.  ..

Victaulic, a manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining solutions, unveiled a plan to build an additional manufacturing center in Lehigh Valley, PA. The 400,000- square-foot facility is expected to break ground later this year and be fully operational in 2019.  ..

Vibration-monitoring firm SpotSee opened a new  in Sorocaba, outside of São Paulo, Brazil, to serve clients with operations in Latin America. Roberto Pinheiro will be in charge of the new facility as Central and South America general manager.  ..

ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company signed a three-year joint development agreement with MagnaBond, to develop new technologies that could enhance evaluation of well cementing, casing and tubing. The agreement came about as part of as part of the Industry Technology Facilitator initiative to addres..

BiSN, maker of metal-to-metal pipeline downhole sealing solutions, received a $1.8 million investment from the Aberdeen-based Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC), the company said. BiSN is one of four companies to benefit from the organization’s “Call for Ideas” initiative, targeting plugging and aba..

MAXX North America Services USA offers a range of Pipeline Integrity services, including inspection, tracking, and maintenance, to the upstream, midstream and downstream markets. MAXX, which originated in Canada, has been operating in the United States since 2013, with an office in Billings, Mont. M..

Fluor Corporation was awarded a contract by Shell for the engineering, procurement and fabrication of Shell’s Penguins floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel in the North Sea. Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value in the fourth quarter of 2017. The FPSO will have a production..

San Mateo Midstream announced a strategic relationship with a subsidiary of Plains All American Pipeline for gathering and transporting crude oil for upstream producers in Eddy County, NM. Subsidiaries of San Mateo and Plains will work together through a joint tariff arrangement and related transact..

Kinder Morgan placed the Utopia Pipeline into service, and product delivery of ethane from Harrison County, Ohio, to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, has begun. The pipeline system extends 270 miles and has an initial capacity of 50,000 bpd, which can be expanded to more than 75,000 bpd.  ..

R.S. Technical Services, a pipeline inspection technologies company acquired by Subsite Electronics in July has officially changed its name to Subsite. The company will have a new website and updated branding but everything else will remain unchanged, the company said.  ..

NextDecade Corporation named current President Matthew K. Schatzman as its CEO.  Schatzman replaced Kathleen M. Eisbrenner, who founded NextDecade in 2010 and will remain chairman of NextDecade’s Board of Directors.  ..

National Petroleum Construction, a subsidiary of Senaat, awarded a $327 million engineering, procurement and construction contract from ONGC for five well platforms and associated pipelines to be constructed in the Ratna field off the west coast of India.  ..

Con Edison of New York, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, named Timothy P. Cawley president. Cawley replaces Craig Ivey, who retired after eight years as president of the company. Before being named president of Con Edison of New York, Cawley served as president and chief executive of Orange and ..

Houston-based oilfield servicer Quintana Energy Services plans to launch an initial public offering aiming to raise about $125 million. The offering consists of around 9.3 million shares each priced between $12 and $15.  ..

Targa Resources Board of Directors appointed Matthew J. Meloy as president, Patrick J. McDonie as president of Gathering and Processing, D. Scott Pryor as president  of Logistics and Marketing, Robert M. Muraro as chief commercial officer, and Jennifer R. Kneale as chief financial officer.  ..

Subsea engineering analysis consultancy AgileTek won the Small Company of the Year Award at the annual Subsea U.K. awards held recently in Aberdeen, Scotland. The category recognizes overall excellence in the subsea sector, based on the company’s development and impact, as well as plans for future g..

Sun Coast Resources, a wholesale petroleum marketer, has been named among Houston’s “Best And Brightest Companies To Work For,” the National Association for Business Resources (NABR). The honor is based on independent analysis of key measures, including  compensation, benefits, retention, and  diver..

Maryland Weighs Special Conditions for Proposed Pipeline A Maryland official said special conditions may be justified for a proposed natural gas pipeline, as opponents to the project rally at the governor’s residence. In a letter sent to the Maryland Department of the Environment, Ben Grumbles, he..

Saudi Funding Reported for TAPI The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline (TAPI) has reportedly received a Saudi investment as construction begins on the difficult Afghan section to run abreast of the 346-mile Kandahar-Herat highway. Maksat Babayev, the Turkmen deputy prime minister wit..

South Stream Transport BV’s construction of the receiving terminal of the TurkStream Offshore Gas Pipeline is underway. The project is now being implemented onshore in Russia, and Turkey, and offshore in the Black Sea, the company said. The terminal is being built by Petrofac, which was awarded the..

A federal judge halted Mountain Valley Pipeline’s plan to take possession of various lands in Virginia for its pipeline project until the company shows  landowners they will be adequately compensated. In the ruling, a  judge said the limited liability corporation is entitled to condemn the land it ..

New Jersey’s Department of Environ-mental Protection (DEP) said an application for the PennEast Pipeline to bring natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to the state is missing information and was rejected, at least temporarily. The DEP, in a letter to PennEast,  stated the company had not resu..

Oneok said it plans to invest $1.4 billion to construct a new pipeline and related infrastructure, to transport natural gas liquids from the Rocky Mountain region to the company’s existing Mid-Continent NGL facilities. The 20-inch Elk Creek Pipeline will run about 900 miles and is expected to be co..

An overview of news pertaining to pipeline construction projects worldwide, as featured in our March 2018 issue.

A subsidiary of Plains All American Pipeline received sufficient binding commitments on its initial open season and is proceeding with construction of a new pipeline system from the Permian Basin to the Corpus Christi-Ingleside area. Permitting, right-of-way and procurement activities are underway ..

An overview of news pertaining to pipeline construction projects worldwide, as featured in our March 2018 issue.

Jordan and Iraq agreed to a framework for building a 1,680-km, twin oil and gas pipeline from Basra to Aqaba. When completed the project will move 1 MMbpd of oil and  258 MMcf/d of gas it destination. The pipelines are of great significance to Jordan, which, because of terrorist activities at nearl..

An overview of news pertaining to pipeline construction projects worldwide, as featured in our March 2018 issue.

An overview of news pertaining to pipeline construction projects worldwide, as featured in our March 2018 issue.

An overview of news pertaining to pipeline construction projects worldwide, as featured in our March 2018 issue.

An overview of the latest news and trends regarding pipeline regulations, as featured in our March 2018 issue.

CEO of a public housing organization in New York says moving ahead with natural gas pipeline construction projects would benefit the state and its residents.