June 2020, Vol. 247, No. 6

To quote the frequently quotable Kelcy Warren during a recent network TV interview, “Every day storage is not filled is a day saved for the producer.”

On Easter Sunday when all of America’s churches were silent, President Trump, who earlier had wished they could be filled with worshipers, was helping broker a final oil production agreement among nearly two dozen producing nations as a way of easing the global glut of crude at a time when the coronavirus (COVID-19) had eliminated millions of barrels of daily demand.

Today, estimates vary widely, but experts cite a range of between 30% to 60% of the world’s pipelines that remain unpiggable. Innovation is helping to close the gap.

Composite repairs are no longer new to the pipeline integrity world. A significant body of work has been developed over the last several decades characterizing their performance and developing guidelines for end-users.

Most issues or problems regarding a pipeline right-of-way (ROW) can be resolved by a thorough investigation of the original easement agreement. This document determines the terms and conditions of laying and maintaining a pipeline on a property. It is the base contract between the landowner (grantor) and the pipeline operator (grantee).

U.S. consumption of petroleum products has fallen to its lowest level in decades because of measures that limit travel and the general economic slowdown induced by mitigation efforts for coronavirus (COVID-19).

With the implementation of the Mega Rule, U.S. pipeline owners and operators will be required to provide traceable, verifiable and complete (TVC) records that confirm the physical and operational characteristics of the pipeline meet the new requirements.

The recent Kingfisher case provides guidelines that midstream companies should address when evaluating their existing contracts or entering into new ones.

To curb the amount of flaring in the Permian basin and to relieve congestion requires significantly more gas offtake pipeline capacity. Fortunately for both the environment and production companies, the Gulf Coast Express has just come online, and the Permian Highway Pipeline and the Whistler Pipeline are underway, possibly to be joined by the Permian Pass Pipeline in the future.

By Shem Oirere, Energy Writer The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is expected to have far-reaching implications on Africa’s oil and gas projects, many of them that had already been billed as next drivers of growth for the region’s hydrocarbons pipeline sector.  ..

The World Bank will spend $250 million to improve the efficiency of Ukraine’s Gas Transmission System Operator (GTSO). One key goal of this ambitious project is “to strengthen its technical and institutional capacity.”

Pipeline construction in and around wetlands faces a major, new legal impediment given the significant decision by a federal district court in Montana in mid-April.

Flack is hitting the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) from all sides over its proposed rule to require automatic and remote shut-off valves on oil and gas pipelines.

Texas, Oklahoma Regulators Reject Production Curbs Regulatory agencies in Texas and Oklahoma both opted not to impose limits on crude oil production within their states despite a historic drop in prices and shrinking storage availability.  The Oklahoma Cor..

Research company DNV GL issued an international call to oil and gas operators and the supply chain to pilot a methodology that will prove whether the data generated by digital twins can be trusted, and if the technology is delivering value.

A currently under construction 435-mile (700-km) pipeline from southern India to a key refinery has selected hundreds of Rotork actuators for the project, according to a company spokesman.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe has been touted for its leak-free and long service life properties for decades. When gas and water service companies add new mains and service lines, these piping systems can remain entirely HDPE and leak-free with hot tap tools.

Kazakhstan Pipeline Work Continues Despite Tengiz Slowdown Kazakhstan’s biggest oil producer Tengizchevroil (TCO) cut back on work at its $45 billion expansion project in the west of the country due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. A Chevron spokesw..

CDI CDI introduced the SoniTrack XLR, an acoustic geophone pipeline pig tracking system that includes a computer-controlled audio amplifier. This allows an operator to easily listen for pigs moving within a pipeline over several miles. In addition to indust..

Chesapeake Utilities named Jeffrey Sylvester as senior vice president with responsibility for the company’s natural gas transmission and regulated distribution businesses.   Xcel Energy has named Bob Frenzel president and chief operating officer, Tim O’Conner executive vice president and chief..

Chesapeake Utilities named Jeffrey Sylvester as senior vice president with responsibility for the company’s natural gas transmission and regulated distribution businesses. ..

Entergy appointed Kathryn Collins as senior vice president and chief Human Resources officer.

John Deere, in collaboration with the UAW, the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association joined a number of organizations and companies across the country to produce protective face shields for health-care workers in response to the COVID-19 health crisis.    ..

NACE International announced that its members have voted to approve the association’s proposal to combine with SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings. During the two-week voting period, NACE said, thousands of its stakeholders worldwide cast votes with an overwhelming 89% in favor of combining fo..