February 2021, Vol. 248, No. 2
Editor's Notebook
When projects start being advanced again a familiar foe will be lying in wait – that being the ever-vigilant anti-pipeline coalition.
Features
Uncertainty begets caution, which can lead to indecision. In the oil patch this eventually can lead to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings.
Spain’s Enagás, Belgium’s Fluxys, France’s GRTgaz and Italy’s Snam own and operate more than 62,000 miles (100,000 km) of gas pipelines and related infrastructure across Europe and beyond.
The last six decades have experienced an explosion of technological development, with the most recent focus being on data analytics, and the pipeline industry has more than dipped its toe in the benefits of data analysis.
This article discusses corrosion inhibitor development for ultra-deep-water systems that experience most of these extreme conditions, including downhole temperatures as high as 400° F (204° C) and pressures as high as 20,000 psi (1,379 bar).
South Africa is eyeing the generation of at least 3,000 MW from various gas-to-power technologies by 2027. This trend is likely to increase investments in natural gas exploration, indigenous production and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration estimates that 40% of the world’s pipelines are difficult to pig or are deemed “unpiggable,” which means they cannot be inspected via inline inspection, but their integrity still needs to be maintained.
Bangladesh’s government has undertaken an expensive gas infrastructure project with two goals: efficiency in gas production is to be improved and gas transmission pipeline capacity is to be extended.
Going forward, the Bakken Shale region should continue to provide good opportunities for midstream companies in 2021, though it will face challenges recovering in the wake of the pandemic.
Flaring has been a lightning rod for criticism of the upstream oil and gas sector due to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions it creates, as well as the perceived wastefulness by the companies who flare. What some may not realize is that the alternative, known as “venting,” is even more damaging.
Once the term “flow assurance” was coined in the 1990s, continued evolution in the offshore marketplace has demanded that the industry invest in advancing the design, strategies and principles that form the core of the field.
Despite the tough year of 2020, one Alberta-based integrated services provider business, SITE Resource Group (SITE), continues to thrive.
Access to publicly available satellite methane data from TROPOMI, and in future platforms such as those being planned by the ESA Copernicus missions, are animating interest from for-profit companies and not-for-profit advocacy groups interested in using methane data to advance these organizations’ missions.
Global News
A collection of briefs provides an update on global pipeline-related stories from this month.
Government
With the ascension of President Joe Biden and environmentally friendly Democratic agency heads taking over U.S. regulatory and independent agencies, interstate gas pipelines face a host of newly emboldened, top-level appointees.
Projects
A collection of brief articles provides updates on global pipeline projects for the current month.
The developers of the now-canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline have laid out plans for how they want to go about unwinding the work that was done for the multistate natural gas project and restoring disturbed land. In a filing with federal regulators, the company proposed a two-year timeline f..
Tech Notes
Siemens Smart Infrastructure and WUN H2 GmbH signed a contract to build one of the largest hydrogen production plants in Germany. It will be built in Wunsiedel in the north of Bavaria.
Composite pipe technology company Strohm secured a contract with Total and ExxonMobil for a qualification testing program for a high-pressure, high-temperature thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP).
What's New
RegO RegO introduced Presto-Tap, the industry’s only UL-listed liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) system leak test devices to its portfolio. Adding the full line of Presto-Tap devices to its portfolio of LPG valves, regulators and tank hardware enables the company to provide ..
People in the News
People Poirier François Poirier was named president and CEO of TC Energy Corporation, succeeding Russ Girling, who retired. Poirier joined the company in 2014 as president, Energy East Pipeline, and most recently served as chief operating officer and presi..
Companies in the News
Companies The ROSEN Group announced that it has joined the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, which was launched by the European Commission last July as part of the EU strategies for energy system integration and hydrogen. In a statement, ROSEN said, “As a company committed to helping operators o..
Associations in the News
Associations TPA Shay Bluntzer, executive director of Public Affairs for NuStar Energy, has been elected chairman of the Texas Pipeline Association (TPA). In his role at NuStar, one of the largest U.S. independent liquids terminal and pipeline operators, Bluntzer has helped build the company’s..
Spotlight
As promised on the campaign trail, U.S. President Joe Biden formally revoked a key permit needed to build the Keystone XL pipeline, dashing the hopes of much of the Canadian crude oil sector.
- 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
- Valero Considers All Options, Including Sale, for California Refineries Amid Regulatory Pressure
- U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Pipeline Permits
- Malaysia’s Oil Exports to China Surge Amid Broader Import Decline
- U.S. LNG Export Growth Faces Uncertainty as Trump’s Tariff Proposal Looms, Analysts Say
- Marathon Oil to Lay Off Over 500 Texas Workers Ahead of ConocoPhillips Merger
- Valero Considers All Options, Including Sale, for California Refineries Amid Regulatory Pressure