August 2020, Vol. 247, No. 8
Editor's Notebook
In what could only be viewed as a significant blow to the wind-power industry in Mexico, that nation’s president, Andrés Manuel López-Obrador, said he would end his support for further projects, including the installation of grid connectors.
Features
The COVID-19 crisis has dramatically affected oil and gas production and demand, leaving no midstream markets untouched as drilling screeched to a halt, pipeline projects were sidelined and global storage neared capacity in a stark reversal of trends at the start of 2020.
Pipeline projects, and the larger energy industry as a whole in Mexico, are facing swathes of political challenges on both sides of the border.
Over the next decade, Germany plans to create the longest hydrogen transmission pipeline network in the world and it will be an integral part of the country’s “green stimulus” program to restart the economy after the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
Canada is the largest source of U.S. energy imports and the second-largest destination for U.S. energy exports behind only Mexico. Energy is an important component of trade between Canada and the United States.
The litany of ambitious and expensive energy sector projects in Nigeria that are way behind schedule, or have yet to go through preliminary development phases, is long. The 81-mile (130-km), 48-inch (1,200-mm) Obiafu-Obri Kom-Oben (OB3) gas supply pipeline is the latest example.
Amid the state-led push for Alaska’s LNG project, the loudest challenges to the project’s environmental impact statement (EIS) within Alaska came from the city of Valdez and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, both of which promoted sites within their own municipality as preferable to building the LNG terminal in Nikiski.
With so many companies involved in natural gas distribution (P&GJ reports on more than 300 such companies, ranging in size from 6 million to a few hundred customers in the Annual 500 Report in November), this summary of ongoing infrastructure replacement projects is not an all-inclusive overview of activity.
In this article, approaches to support cultural change among pipeline operators are addressed, as are approaches that might be implemented in the pipeline control room.
The use of pipe-in-pipe systems for the thermal insulation of pipelines is well established. Since 2004, Tata Steel has been delivering systems for pipe-in-pipe projects in the North Sea, including BP Rhum and Talisman Tweedsmuir.
A Week Like no Other
Energy Transfer has vowed to fight a court order to shut down and empty the Dakota Access oil pipeline (DAPL), contending that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg overstepped his authority with the ruling.
The developers of the long-delayed, 600-mile (965-km) Atlantic Coast Pipeline canceled the multistate natural gas project, citing recurring litigation, permitting uncertainties and mounting costs.
The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) use of Nationwide Permit 12 but refused to let TC Energy resume construction of its Keystone XL pipeline under the fast-track permit.
Government
A federal court tossed out a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) policy that the commission has used to extend rehearing periods so it could spend more time examining typically landowner or environmental groups’ complaints about FERC approvals of new construction applications.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is in the process of seeking comments on a number of pipeline regulatory reform proposals, one focusing on hazardous liquid pipelines, the other on distribution pipelines.
Tech Notes
China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering (CPP) was hired by PetroChina Southwest Pipeline Company to complete the work on the China-Myanmar Oil and Gas Pipeline, a pressurized 40-inch by 80-grade gas pipeline, using mechanized FCAW in-service welding technology.
Projects
Rangeland Midstream Canada Brings Marten Hills Pipeline into Service Rangeland Midstream Canada said its Marten Hills Pipeline System entered service. The system consists of new crude oil and condensate pipelines located in the Marten Hills region of north central Alberta. The Marten Hills Pipelin..
Rangeland Midstream Canada said its Marten Hills Pipeline System entered service. The system consists of new crude oil and condensate pipelines located in the Marten Hills region of north central Alberta.
U.S. energy regulators granted Delfin LNG a second one-year extension until September 2021, to complete its proposed floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) export facility off the coast of Louisiana.
Global News
US Oil and Gas Bankruptcies Likely to Continue: Report A wave of oil and gas bankruptcies in North America is likely to continue this year as oil prices remain depressed and a new surge of COVID-19 cases threaten to stall any recovery in fuel demand, according to a report by law firm Haynes an..
What's New
ControlAir ControlAir introduced the Type 7150 Precision Air Relay, a high-precision, multistage pressure relay offering fine adjustment and maximum stability under variable operating conditions. High-resolution output control combined with high-relief capa..
ControlAir introduced the Type 7150 Precision Air Relay, a high-precision, multistage pressure relay offering fine adjustment and maximum stability under variable operating conditions. High-resolution output control combined with high-relief capacity make the rely the choice for pneumatic counterbal..
People in the News
Bill Walsh rejoined EN Engineering as chief metallurgist after serving as program leader at ArcelorMittal Global R&D. Walsh, whose research gas focused on advancing steel development for pipeline and energy applications, holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Northwestern Universit..
Tellurian announced that its board of directors has named Charif Souki executive chairman. Souki has been Tellurian’s non-executive chairman since founding the company in 2016. ..
Essential Utilities announced the appointment of Kim Edvardsson as vice president of Finance for Peoples, its Pittsburgh, Penn.-based natural gas division.
Companies in the News
Colonial Terminals Operating Company – a subsidiary of Colonial Enterprises, Inc. (Colonial) and an affiliate of Colonial Pipeline Company – has agreed to purchase three refined product terminals from Lincoln Terminal Company, a products and biofuels marketing and logistics company. Two of the termi..
Colonial Terminals Operating Company – a subsidiary of Colonial Enterprises, Inc. (Colonial) and an affiliate of Colonial Pipeline Company – has agreed to purchase three refined product terminals from Lincoln Terminal Company, a products and biofuels marketing and logistics company. Two of the termi..
An affiliate of Black Bear Transmission has agreed to acquire six intrastate natural gas transmission pipelines from a subsidiary of Third Coast Midstream. The acquisition provides an extension to the U.S. Southeast gas transmission business that Basalt acquired from Third Coast in 2019, resulting i..
Associations in the News
The Southern Gas Association announced the launch of four inclusion initiatives it said are designed to promote change and help end systemic racism. The efforts include development of a new blog and a panel series to provide platforms for communication of diverse perspectives, as well as a new Inclu..
- Energy Transfer Subsidiary Selects KTJV for Lake Charles LNG Export Project
- Phillips 66 to Shut LA Oil Refinery, Ending Major Gasoline Output Amid Supply Concerns
- FERC Sides with Williams in Texas-Louisiana Pipeline Dispute with Energy Transfer
- U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Pipeline Permits
- ConocoPhillips Eyes Sale of $1 Billion Permian Assets Amid Marathon Acquisition
- U.S. LNG Export Growth Faces Uncertainty as Trump’s Tariff Proposal Looms, Analysts Say
- Malaysia’s Oil Exports to China Surge Amid Broader Import Decline
- Four Petroleum Liquids Pipelines Completed in U.S. Since 2023
- Lighter U.S. Permian Crude Risks Losing Favor with Refiners Due to Processing Challenges
- Marathon Oil to Lay Off Over 500 Texas Workers Ahead of ConocoPhillips Merger