February 2024, Vol. 251, No. 2
Business
Association news, personnel changes and mergers and acquisitions in February 2024!
What's New
Global News
Latest industry developments from around the world!
Projects
East African Crude Pipeline delivers first shipment; Pembina acquires Enbridge’s stake in Alliance Pipeline; KM boosts Permian Highway pipeline capacity by 550 MMcf/d; and more!
Guest Perspective
Saudi Aramco’s energy strategy should teach The West a lesson: invest in hydrocarbons now. Not only is oil and gas crucial for near- and medium-term energy security and affordability, but there is also a huge amount of money to be made that can be put toward the transition.
Tech Notes
Natural gas serves as the transitional fuel between hydrocarbons and renewables. Centrifugal compressors are crucial for efficiently transporting large volumes of natural gas, utilized across various industries from oil and gas to petrochemicals and LNG.
Accurate, real-time data is essential to succeeding in the oil and gas industry. Engineers need operational data from the field to calibrate equipment, schedule maintenance activities and coordinate with third-party logistics, to keep the flow of product moving.
Features
Due to the strong global warming potential (GWP) of methane (CH4), there is increasing attention on reducing its releases (both unintentional and intentional) into the atmosphere.
One of the most pressing concerns for operators of liquid buried pipelines is the management of stress corrosion cracking (SCC). Detecting and sizing SCC in liquid pipelines is usually accomplished through ultrasonic crack detection (UTCD) in-line inspection tools.
More than 20 Bcf/d of natural gas pipeline capacity is under construction, partly completed, or approved to deliver natural gas to five U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals that are currently under construction, according to the U.S. EIA’s Natural Gas Pipeline Project Tracker.
Mexico’s state of Chihuahua and the U.S. company Mexico Pacific have signed an agreement to construct the Sierra Madre Gas Pipeline (STGN). The pipeline will extend 155 miles (250 km) from the Waha Basin in Texas to the border at Chihuahua, then 497 miles (800 km) to Puerto Libertad in Sonora.
Fueled primarily by U.S. production growth concentrated around the oil-generating geology of North Dakota, the Williston Basin’s midstream footprint has expanded according to the region’s evolving needs.
The year 2023 was a time of extremely conflicting messages for the future of fossil fuels and the sundry clean fuel alternatives to meet distance carbon-free climate change goals.
Government
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final methane performance standards for natural gas controllers and compressors, which will require midstream and interstate pipelines to take a new look at their emission controls.
Editor's Notebook
Last month, Niger’s military chief, Abdourahamane Tiani, told an audience on state television that his fellow citizens could expect the west African nation to export its first barrels of crude within the next few weeks.
- Texas Waha Hub Gas Prices Plunge to Record Lows, Hit Negative Territory
- Williams Seeks Emergency Certificate to Operate $1 Billion Mid-Atlantic Gas Pipeline After Court Reversal
- Texas Oil Pipelines Near Max Capacity, Threatening Future Export Limits
- Energy Transfer Subsidiary Selects KTJV for Lake Charles LNG Export Project
- Tanker Departs Venture Global’s Louisiana Plaquemines LNG Export Plant as Facility Nears Production
- Saudi Arabia Looking to Expand Pipeline to Reduce Oil Exports via Gulf
- Report: Houston Region Poised to Become a Global Clean Hydrogen Hub
- Texas Startup Endeavors Again to Build First Major U.S. Oil Refinery Since 1977
- Alaska Greenlights Enstar’s $57 Million Pipeline to Boost LNG Imports
- TC Energy Completes $1.14 Billion Sale of Portland Natural Gas Transmission System