Environment
Cuadrilla to Appeal UK Council's Anti-Fracking Decision
LONDON (AP) — Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. said it will appeal a local authority decision to block the oil and gas exploration company's bid to frack shale gas in northwest England — a setback for plans to establish a fracking industry in Britain. Lancashire County Councilors last month rejected plans for exploratory drilling at two sites about 240 miles northwest of London, citing effects on traffic and the landscape. Britain's government hopes fracking will reduce the country's reliance on gas imports.
Dig It! Safe-Utilities Law Stakes Claim over Campaign Signs
PHOENIX (AP) — With city elections in Phoenix next month and 2016 races around the corner, Arizona regulators are warning people that they might need to pull up stakes on the many campaign signs on lawns and street corners. Signs installed without prior inspection could create danger around utility lines and bring hefty fines, according to a longtime state law. The Arizona Blue Stake law mandates that anyone doing excavation must have utility lines marked first. It's a law that was enacted in 1974 and has been enforced by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Amid Lawsuit, Further Delay of Federal Land Drilling Rules
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Proposed rules for oil and gas drilling on federal lands nationwide continue to be delayed amid a legal challenge. A federal judge in Wyoming has ordered the Interior Department to better document how it developed the rules. The documentation originally was due to be filed with the court no later than this Wednesday. A recent extension to Aug. 28 means the rules now won't take effect until sometime in September at the soonest.
North Dakota Regulators Signal Comfort on Energy Transfer Pipeline Issues
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's Public Service Commission says some big environmental concerns have been addressed by the company proposing a $3.8 billion pipeline from western North Dakota to Illinois. The three-member regulatory panel says Energy Transfer Partners appears to have a good plan in place to address worries about land reclamation and river crossings. The PSC held an informal work session on the project Monday but took no action. The panel expects to meet again late next month to talk about the company's permit application.
Part II: Presidents Report Finds Need to Bolster Vulnerable Infrastructure
<em>Editor’s note: This second of a three-part series on the first-ever presidential Quadrennial Energy Review 2015 focuses on the safety and vulnerabilities of transportation, storage and distribution (TS&D) infrastructure and methane emissions</em>. Natural disasters pose a significant safety risk to the nation’s TS&D infrastructure. In 2012, there were 11 weather disasters in the United States costing $1 billion, second only to 2011 for the most on record. Insurance data in the QER reports $22 billion in total losses from weather events in 2013, excluding self-insured losses.
Rail Cars Leaking Crude After Train Derails in Montana
CULBERTSON, Mont. (AP) — More than 20 cars on an oil train derailed in rural northeastern Montana, and at least three of them were leaking crude, leading some homes to be evacuated, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injury or fire, but of the 21 cars that derailed Thursday evening, only two remained upright, Roosevelt County Sheriff Jason Frederick said.
Price Gregory President Discusses Accomplishments, Semi-Retirement
Price Gregory President Michael Langston recently announced his retirement after a 35-year career in the pipeline construction sector. Langston joined H.C. Price in 1981. Following a merger between H.C. Price and Gregory & Cook Construction, Price Gregory was formed. Price Gregory was later purchased by Quanta Services and Langston was named president of the company.
Natural Gas Surpasses Coal as Biggest US Electricity Source
Natural gas overtook coal as the top source of U.S. electric power generation for the first time ever earlier this spring, a milestone that has been in the making for years as the price of gas slides and new regulations make coal more risky for power generators. About 31% of electric power generation in April came from natural gas, and 30% from coal, according to a recently released report from the research company SNL Energy, which used data from the U.S. Energy Department. Nuclear power came in third at 20%.
PHMSA Issues Rules for State Pipeline Excavation Damage Prevention, Enforcement
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today announced the issuance of a final rule to establish the process for evaluating State excavation damage prevention programs and enforcing Federal standards in states where such requirements are inadequate or do not exist.
California Gas Prices May Top $4 a Gallon Despite National Downward Trend
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — While gas prices nationwide are on a downward trend, California is experiencing a spike that could see prices top $4 a gallon before easing again, according to analysts. A shortage in oil and other components used in refining California's unique blend of less-polluting gas was one of the reasons for the price jump, industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said. A slowdown in imported crude and a refinery shutdown in Torrance also caused wholesale prices to skyrocket, experts said.
Company Blamed for 31-Acre Sinkhole Sues Oil Company
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The company blamed for a 31-acre sinkhole that forced 350 rural Louisiana residents out of their homes has sued Occidental Petroleum Corp., claiming that negligent drilling and production contributed to the damage. Texas Brine Co. said Occidental and Oxy USA Inc. should have to cover more than $100 million in damages that Texas Brine has paid or will have to pay. Occidental did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Assumption Parish.
Latest in Pressure Cycle Induced Fatigue Crack Growth Modeling
Recent high-profile pipeline incidents have increased awareness of integrity threats associated with legacy seam-welded pipe. Additionally, expectations from the public, regulators and pipeline operators to effectively manage these threats have increased. Pipeline operators use guidance published in PHMSA’s TT05 – Low Frequency ERW and Lap Welded Longitudinal Seam Evaluation– to model the effect of pressure cycle-induced fatigue on the growth of crack flaws to determine the optimum integrity re-assessment date prior to their growth to a critical level.
Carbon Emission Regulations Could Jeopardize LNG Projects
Natural gas is increasingly being viewed as one of the most important sources of fuel in the coming decades. That is why Royal Dutch Shell, an oil major, made a huge bet onLNG when it decided to purchase BG Group, which has major holdings in LNG projects in Australia and East Africa.
Permits Granted for Bakken Pipeline Beneath ND Lake
The North Dakota Public Service Commission unanimous backed a Hess Corp. crude oil pipeline that will run under Lake Sakakawea. The $105 million project will convert an 8-inch pipeline to transfer Bakken crude oil along a 2.4 mile section of pipe buried 6 feet under the lake bottom in 1992.
Greener-Than-Thou Vermont Accused of Exporting Its Energy Problems
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — When Vermont became the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in 2012, Gov. Peter Shumlin said the ban was "in keeping with our environmental ethic and our protection of our natural resources." But the state is likely on the verge of a big increase in the use of fracked gas from Canada.
Regulators Ask Appalachian Power to Keep Up Infrastructure at Closed Plant
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia regulators have asked Appalachian Power to maintain infrastructure at a closed coal-fired power plant that could one day be used to convert the facility to natural gas. Fully demolishing the Kanawha River Plant would rule out such a conversion, the Public Service Commission said in an order issued Tuesday. "We're just starting to understand the implications of the order," Appalachian Power spokeswoman Jeri Matheney said Wednesday. "We're going to have look at these costs and the feasibility of complying with the order."
DOEs Gant: Shifting Energy Policy to Stewardship of Abundance
Although we are already 15 years deep into the 21st century and women working at the top rungs of professional life no longer turn heads, when it comes to the “hard” numbers-crunching parts in the global economy – science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – women still get asked why they selected this way to earn a buck. This same question is occasionally put to Paula Gant, holder of a doctorate degree in economics and the deputy assistant secretary for oil and natural gas in the federal Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy.
Administration Proposes More Safety Valves for Gas Lines
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Obama administration moved Wednesday to significantly expand a requirement for utilities to install inexpensive safety valves on gas lines across the nation following deadly fires and explosions going back decades that officials and safety advocates said could have been avoided. The Transportation Department proposal would cover new or replaced natural gas lines serving multi-family dwellings, small businesses and homes not already covered under a 2009 mandate.
EIA: Annual Energy Outlook Through 2040
The latest Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015) prepared by the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) presents long-term annual projections of energy supply, demand and prices through 2040. This analysis focuses on six scenarios: a reference case, low and high economic growth cases, low and high oil price cases, and the high oil and gas resource case.
Effects of Clean Power Plan on Natural Gas Markets, Pipeline Infrastructure
The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) establishes state-by-state carbon emissions rate targets that it projects will reduce U.S. electricity sector carbon emissions 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. Some stakeholders, including the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), have raised concerns that states might rely heavily on natural gas generation for CPP compliance, creating stress on gas pipeline capacity and ultimately affecting electric system reliability.
Canadas Carbon Emissions Rules Spark Hope for Keystone
TransCanada Corp. has written to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arguing that new Canadian rules on emissions should persuade him to approve the construction of the much-delayed Keystone XL pipeline. The proposed $6.4 billion project would carry an estimated 830,000 bpd of Canadian crude oil per from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, NE, then link up with Keystone’s existing line, which would take the oil on the final leg to the Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Environmentalists Want California to Stop Offshore Fracking
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Environmentalists called on California Gov. Jerry Brown to halt plans for months of hydraulic fracturing in the waters off Southern California, warning that it could lead to chemical pollution or an oil spill. State regulators this month approved nine permits for operator Thums Long Beach Co. for so-called fracking operations between August and December in Long Beach Harbor.
In The News: EPA Says Fracking Not Widespread Problem in Drinking Water
The federal Environmental Protection Agency on June 4 released a much-anticipated study of whether hydraulic fracturing contaminates drinking water supplies, concluding that while there have been some cases of contamination, the issue is not widespread.
Judge Orders Colorado Oilman to Pay $16.8 million in Legal Fees
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Colorado oilman must pay $16.8 million to reimburse energy companies for legal fees they incurred defending his unsuccessful lawsuits against them, a federal judge has ordered. Jack Grynberg received national attention when he filed scores of lawsuits against natural gas and pipeline companies around the West in the late 1990s.
Gulf States Reach $18.7 Billion Settlement with BP over Oil Spill
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Officials in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana announced an $18.7 billion settlement with BP on Thursday that resolves years of litigation over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The settlement announcement comes as a federal judge was preparing to rule on how much BP owed in federal Clean Water Act penalties after millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf. Individual states also were pursuing litigation. Most of those penalties were to be distributed among the states for environmental and economic restoration projects along the Gulf Coast.
Government: Obama Nominates New PHMSA Administrator
With Congress riled about PHMSA's slow implementation of the last pipeline safety law, the Obama administration has nominated a new administrator for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration who lacks pipeline and hazardous materials experience. Nor has she ever been a regulator. Marie Therese Dominguez began in the Clinton White House and worked her way through administrative positions in the Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Postal Service and the Army, where she spent the last two years as deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works.
California Oil Spill Gushed Like Hose 'Without a Nozzle'
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters investigating a reported petroleum stench at a California beach last month didn't take long to find a spill — oil was spreading across the sand and into the surf. Tracing the source, they found crude gushing from a bluff like a fire hose "without a nozzle," records show.
Latest DOE Report Slams Canadas Oil Sands
Oil from Canada’s oil sands is about 20% more carbon-intensive on average than crude from elsewhere. That is the damming conclusion from a forthcoming new study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and its partners. The study looked at a wells-to-wheels analysis, which takes into account greenhouse gas emissions along the entire supply chain, from extraction to transit, refining, and finally combustion by the end user.
PHMSA: Pipeline Operator Couldn't Reach Staff at California Spill Site
LOS ANGELES (AP) — As thousands of gallons of crude oil from a ruptured pipeline spread along the California coast, its operator was unable to contact workers near the break to get information required to alert federal emergency officials, records released Wednesday said. Personnel for Plains All American Pipeline needed the precise location of the May 19 spill and an estimate of its size before notifying the National Response Center, a clearinghouse for reports of hazardous-material releases, according to federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration documents.
ExxonMobil Halts 3 Oil Platforms Due to Santa Barbara Pipeline Spill
LOS ANGELES (AP) — ExxonMobil has been forced to halt operations at three offshore oil platforms because it couldn't deliver to refineries in the wake of a broken pipeline that spilled up to 101,000 gallons of crude on the Santa Barbara coast, the company said. Operations temporarily ceased last week because Santa Barbara County rejected its emergency application to truck oil to refineries, spokesman Richard Keil said Tuesday.
- 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
