April 2019, Vol. 246, No. 4

One of the early lessons of the new year that revealed itself in the first few weeks of January is there is a renewed bullishness in the offshore oil and natural gas potential for the Gulf of Mexico.

A comeback is expected for M&A activity in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The combination of substantial inventory on the block, potential proof-of-concept developments on the horizon and continued focus by many players in the region on divesting of non-core properties, may set the stage for heightened deal flow in the region, assuming commodity prices continue to cooperate.

Growing offshore exploration and production activity at locations around the globe is creating stronger demand for construction of pipelines and subsea infrastructure.

P&GJ Staff Report U.S. Natural Gas Marketed Production and Natural Gas Price 2000-2017 U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas Exports and LNG Prices by Country 2017 ..

In the oil and gas industry, pressure can ramp up twofold during peak times and companies must figure out how to maximize extraction to optimize return.

Togerson When James Torgerson was studying accounting at Cleveland State University in Ohio, he was working full-time to pay his way, driving a tractor-trailer rig hauling steel. It was tough, but it led to a position with the Diamond Shamrock C..

The playing field of environmental permitting can be complicated, exhaustive, and time consuming. Among the most challenging rules and regulations for the energy industry are those which were designed to uphold national obligations to tribal nations.

Gas, widely seen as a transition fuel, provides 45% of California’s power, augmented by sustainable large-scale hydro (17.89%) and wind and solar. Indeed, California is one of only three U.S. states in which solar exceeds 10% of power generation. As of 2017 coal accounted for only 4.1% of California’s power, compared to 30% nationally and it will be zero by 2026.

By Michele Terranova and Alicia Gibson, Pipeline Performance Group, LLC How alert are your controllers at work?  Are they wide-awake, exhibiting signs of liveliness and enthusiasm at all hours of the day and night? Being alert and vigilant on the job is essential to the controller’s job. Controller..

As with many other natural gas providers, Virginia Natural Gas (VNG) faces the twin challenge of replacing aging pipeline in congested areas, where rights-of-way are also frequently overflowing with multiple other utilities’ infrastructure.

While energy leaders feel optimistic about 2019, many are facing the challenge of how to maximize their technology. Big data may be revolutionizing other industries, but its potential has yet to be unlocked by most energy companies.

By Charles Adlay, Principal, Pipeline Performance Group I have been thinking about a quote from Marcus Aurelius for several months in relation to control rooms: “What injures the hive, injures the bee ...?” I do not know much about hives but read about colony collapse disease a few years ago. Tha..

China is expected to introduce a plan this year to combine the long-distance pipeline assets of its state-owned energy companies into a single, national oil and gas pipeline group and open access to private and foreign energy producers.

The United States added its largest electric generating capacity in 15 years during 2018, with natural gas fueling 62% of all utility-scale additions according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).  The additions totaled 31.3 gigawatts (GW) of gene..

Lebanon warned its Mediterranean neighbors in March that a planned East Med gas pipeline from Israel to the European Union must not be allowed to violate its maritime borders.

Crude inventories in West Texas dropped in February to the lowest in four months after a converted pipeline began transporting crude from the nation’s biggest shale oil field to the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to data from Genscape.

Moda Midstream LLC is considering building a second berth at its Ingleside, Texas, crude export terminal to accommodate supertankers, the company’s chief executive, Bo McCall, said.

Service began on the 168-mile Valley Crossing Pipeline, which will transport natural gas from the Agua Dulce near Corpus Christi, Texas, to a pipeline in Mexico.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow was ready to keep gas transit through Ukraine after 2019, despite the construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Medvedev said in an interview with Luxemburger Wort newspaper that Russia can use Ukraine for gas transit in the future “under certain con..

Denmark’s foreign minister Anders Samuelsen said in March that his country hasn’t yet decided whether to allow a joint German-Russian gas pipeline to pass through its territorial waters, but suggested Moscow’s continued aggression in Ukraine was making it less likely to be approved. The Baltic Sea ..

Energy Transfer’s Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line said it reduced mainline capacity on its system in early March after a fiery rupture downstream of its Centralia Compressor Station. The outage required a section of the Centralia 400 Line to be shut-in for repairs, prompting critical notice of a Force ..

The top federal appeals court in charge of policing regulatory decisions gave a big victory to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in February by endorsing its approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a decision, dispatchin..

The FERC’s weighing of greenhouse gas emissions also comes into play in its consideration of LNG facilities. So, it was noteworthy that FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur concurred with the two Republican commissioners in approving the first LNG project that the Trump administration has greenlighted. ..

Navigator Energy Services said it will significantly expand its Glass Mountain Pipeline System (GMP) with new segregated crude grades, more storage and transportation capacity, additional origin points and expanded market access at Cushing, Okla.  It also an..

Canada’s energy regulator endorsed the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion that would nearly triple the flow of oil from the Alberta oil sands to the Pacific Coast. The National Energy Board (NEB) said the expansion is in the country’s national interest but s..

Enbridge Energy is delaying the start-up of its planned Line 3 replacement crude oil pipeline through northern Minnesota by a year. The Canadian-based company said it expects the new pipeline to go into service in the second half of 2020. Enbridge officials had hoped to put the pipeline into servi..

Russian oil and gas pipe-maker TMK expressed interest in bidding for the construction of a gas pipeline in Bulgaria, as Sofia looks to secure a link with the Moscow-designed TurkStream gas pipeline, according to Reuters. TurkStream, which traverses the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey, is part of Ru..

Enable Midstream Partners said an affiliate of Golden Pass LNG is the cornerstone shipper for the company’s Gulf Run Pipeline project. Golden Pass, a joint venture between affiliates of Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, said it will invest $10 billion in infrastructure to add liquification and export..

Plains All American Pipeline plans for the reversed Capline crude pipeline, from the U.S. Midwest to the Gulf Coast, to begin service in the third quarter of 2020. The target in-service date for the reversed line is the third quarter 2020 for light oil service and early 2022 for heavy oil service, ..

Service began on the 168-mile Valley Crossing Pipeline, which transports natural gas from the Agua Dulce near Corpus Christi, Texas, to a pipeline in Mexico. The $1.5 billion pipeline will move 2.6 Bcf/d of natural gas into service. It had been ready to operate since October, Enbridge said, but awa..

A major U.S. oil company is reinforcing its deepwater offshore asset integrity assurance in the Gulf of Mexico with the aid of a sonar-monitoring system developed and delivered by subsea engineering specialist Sonardyne International Ltd.  The Sentry Integrity Monitoring Sonar (IMS), has been deplo..

SPPS introduced the 100-hp, single-phase electric motor. The Belle Single-Phase Motor uses Written-Pole technology to deliver a 100-hp single-phase motor that is compatible with readily available single-phase utility services. This eliminates the need for ph..

Access Fixtures released a forward-throw, full-cutoff LED wall pack, the CUDL. The equipment comes standard in architectural bronze finish and can be painted in custom RAL colors if desired. It is durable, powerful and comes in three different wattages meant to replace HID wall packs – 81w, 112w, an..

The Grundoburst static pipe bursting system uses a specially designed bladed cutter head to make bursting ductile iron and steel pipe possible. Six models are available for bursting 2-inch through 54-inch pipes and larger. It can pull in a variety of replace..

ControlAir introduced the Type 6100 High Flow Capacity Volume Booster. The booster is designed to significantly increase the stroking speed in valve actuation system applications that require high forward flow and exhaust capacities and has a 1:1 signal-to-o..

Pipeotech can now license the technology behind Clock Spring’s DeltaV-Seal, a smart sealing technology to the industrial marketplace, effectively expanding the product presence to new prospective clients. The Full Metal Gasket features the same V-shaped rings to achieve sealing strengths exceeding 1..

By eliminating one of the most common causes of fluid end failure – fatigue cracking at the intersection of the bores – new Cat Cube Bore well stimulation technology extends block life by 50% or more. Its innovative geometry significantly reduces the downtime and costs associated with fluid end repl..

Cavalcade Midstream hired energy industry veteran Tom Russell as its chief financial officer. Most recently, Russell was vice president of Corporate Development at NuStar Energy. He also worked at Valero Energy in various roles...

Chevron named Pierre Breber as vice president and chief financial officer..

Mark Nelson will succeed Pierre Berber executive vice president of Downstream and Chemicals for Chevron...

Colin Parfitt, president of Supply & Trading for Chevron will become Vice President of Midstream...

Jeff Baldwin has been hired as regional sales manager for Vacuworx...

Kevin Harvey has been hired as Northeast Construction equipment sales manager for Vacuworx...

Bernie Lailey is now the business director of Canada for Vacuworx...

Randy Hayes has been promoted to vice president of Business Development and Strategic Accounts for Vacuworx. ..

Airborne Oil & Gas announces Renato Bastos joined the company as vice president Brazil, strengthening its presence in Brazil. In this role, he will guide the effort to qualify the Thermoplastic Composite Pipeline (TCP) Riser for dynamic application in Deepwater Brazil...

Tony Guerino joined Womble Bond Dickinson’s as a partner in its Houston office where he will specialize in energy and environmental litigation involving oil exploration and production disputes. Prior to becoming an attorney, Guerino worked as a petroleum and..

Jeremy Goebel has been appointed to executive vice president of Plains All American Pipeline...

Chris Chandler was appointed to executive vice president and chief operating officer of Plains All American Pipeline. ..

Kinder Morgan’s Board of Directors selected Catherine James as vice president and general counsel. James practicing law in the energy sector for 27 years. She served as general counsel of Dynegy from 2011 until it was acquired Dynegy in 2018. Previously, she..

Pipeline research organization PRCI promoted Natalie Tessel to director of Brand and Member Engagement. She has been with PRCI for 14 years and led many of the organizations initiates...

Midstream veteran I.J. “Chip” Berthelot, II launched Laser Midstream Energy, his fourth private equity-backed midstream venture in two decades. The new company is being financed by an equity commitment from Energy Spectrum Capital...

Noble Midstream Partners exercised its option with Epic Midstream Holdings to acquire a 15% equity interest in the Epic Y-Grade Pipeline. In addition, Noble Energy assigned Noble Midstream its option to acquire a 30% equity interest in the Epic Crude Oil Pipeline...

Miller Pipeline acquired Ocala, Fla.-based Hamlet Construction. Founded in 1973, Hamlet specializes in natural gas mains and services, along with pipeline contracting and rehabilitation services.  The acquisition adds 100 construction workers to Miller’s 3,300 employees nationwide...

First Infrastructure Capital will acquire WhiteWater, including its 60% stake in Agua Blanca, a Delaware Basin intrastate natural gas pipeline system. Agua Blanca is a natural gas residue pipeline servicing the Delaware Basin. The system consists of about 90 miles of 36-inch pipeline and 70 miles of..

Romet Limited has been named honored by Canada’s Best Managed Companies organization for a third consecutive year. The natural gas meters and services company was among 477 private firms recognized for its strategic vision, capabilities and commitment...

Hess Midstream Partners subsidiary Hess North Dakota Pipelines agreed to purchase the crude oil and gas gathering assets of Summit Midstream Partners’ Tioga Gathering System in Western Dakota for about $60 million gross – $12 million net to Hess Midstream. The crude oil and gas gathering assets incl..

Noble Midstream Partners and Salt Creek Midstream closed the previously announced 50/50 joint venture. Delaware Crossing LLC will provide crude oil gathering and transportation services and include a 95-mile pipeline in the southern Delaware Basin originating in Pecos County, Texas, with additional ..

Phillips 66 Partners and Kinder Morgan began a joint open season by Gray Oak Pipeline and Kinder Morgan Crude & Condensate (KMCC) to provide shippers with long-term crude oil transportation from Gray Oak Pipeline origin points in the Permian Basin to KMCC delivery points at or near the Houston Ship ..

Peoples Gas replaced more than 900 miles of aging cast- and ductile-iron pipe as part of the company’s system modernization program. The amount of pipe upgraded so far would stretch “from Soldier Field to the Superdome,” the company said. The replacement effort, in some cases, involved pipe dating t..

PG&E Corporation announced its Board of Directors is conducting a search for a new chief executive officer following the departure of Geisha Williams. John Simon serves as the interim chief executive officer and has been executive vice president and general counsel since 2017. He came to PG&E in 200..

Zahroof Valves, makers of values used in gas gathering, is relocating and expanding its reciprocating compressor valve operations to a facility in Houston, where the warehouse and manufacturing centers will be in the same building...

Clear Creek Midstream secured an initial venture capital commitment of $300 million from EnCap Flatrock Midstream. Clear Creek is an independent energy company focused on the development of midstream infrastructure for oil and gas producers working in shale plays across North America...

Okeanus Science & Technology moved its manufacturing facility to a larger space in Houston, allowing the company to increase production capabilities.  The space is nearly triple in size from the previous Houston location. ..

Quorum Software will acquire Houston-based energy measurement services company Coastal Flow Measurement, including its information services and technologies subsidiary, Flow-Cal...

The Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA), elected Director of Infrastructure Monitoring at OptaSense J.J. Williams as chairman for a one-year term. Mike Hines, market manager for Industrial Sensing with OFS, was elected vice chairman. FOSA represents fiber..