Environment
Protecting Pipelines From Catastrophic Effects of Earthquakes
On Dec. 26 a gas pipeline blast followed by a mild earthquake struck Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, which will host the 2014 Winter Olympics. No one was hurt and there was no apparent damage to the city's infrastructure after a 5.2 magnitude earthquake was reported at 0242 local time. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are 14,000 earthquakes worldwide each year that have a magnitude of 4 or greater—700 of which occur in the U.S. and Alaska.
Uneven Energy Transportation Infrastructure Delaying Full Global Benefits Of Shale Gale
Increased natural gas utilization, and to a lesser extent oil development, is being hampered by a lack of market liquidity and spot pricing for the commodities both domestically and abroad. Roadblocks include insufficient pipeline connectivity in North America and into Europe, a dramatic lack of international energy infrastructure in Asia, and the regulatory and environmental delays that prevent the necessary investments from going forward.
Lightning, The Costliest Threat to Oil Tankers and Refineries
Why is lightning so often overlooked when talking about protecting the oil and gas industry? Its effects on a refinery, storage tank or compressor station can be catastrophic.
NAPCA Convention Discusses Economy, Safety; Inducts Two Into Hall Of Fame
The 49th annual NAPCA convention met in Indian Wells, CA from April 24-27, featuring the highest attendance level since 2008 and honoring an unprecedented two new entrants into its Hall of Fame.
California Dreaming? Could The Monterey Be Road To Oil Future?
“I think there is lots of opportunity. It is whether or not the economics can line up with the technology to get it out of the ground.” <em>– oil executive in Bakersfield</em> Between federal numbers crunchers, and a university and think tank-based report that surfaced earlier this year, California’s venerable Monterey Shale is stirring renewed dreams of California gold – black gold in the form of heavy crude.
Risky Business: Safety compliance rules are changing. How will you respond?
Every energy company CEO has safety and compliance (or the lack of it) in the back of his mind as he goes through the day.
Hurricane Outlook Calls For Another Busy Season On Gulf Coast
Tropical storms and hurricanes are among the largest and most destructive weather phenomena on earth. In the continental United States alone, it’s estimated that tropical cyclones have caused an average annual damage of $10 billion since 1900, according to a study in the Natural Hazards Review. And lying in the paths of these monsters are thousands of offshore drilling platforms and thousands of miles of oil and gas pipelines.
Chairman Jon Wellinghoff Departing FERC
There probably will be neither tears nor jeers from the pipeline community over the departure of FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff. He announced his exit in late May and is staying on until President Obama nominates a successor.
Editor's Notebook: Thoreau And The Keystone XL
The other day I received this friendly e-mail from a PR person for <em>The Nation</em>, a newsletter that is the antithesis of <em>Human Events</em>. I can live without either. She asked if I would like to review an energy-related article.
Sounding The Cybersecurity Alarm
Cybersecurity. Executives now take it much more seriously than even a couple of years ago, as hackers continue wreaking devastating impact worldwide, with 40% of all attacks directed at oil and gas companies. Being victimized by exponentially more attacks aimed not only at just compromising systems, but also causing severe disruptions, stealing proprietary information and for financial gain, the time to take action was literally “yesterday.”
Gazprom Deals Under Scrutiny
Russia’s antitrust watchdog is coming down on Gazprom and its well-connected pipe supplier by launching an investigation of their huge deals over past few years, claiming the world’s biggest gas producer and the North European Pipe Project restricted competition.
Michels Blazes Trail In Inclusion Of Diverse Businesses Among Suppliers
Michels Corporation has further bolstered its already sterling reputation for both technical and personnel innovation over the past five decades with its ongoing development of a broad and diverse network of suppliers and subcontractors, which began in 2005.
As NACE grows, new president focuses on education, global outreach
Benjamin Franklin once wrote that in this world the only certainties in life are death and taxes. Had the often prophetic statesman been born decades later and found himself working in the pipeline business, he most assuredly would have added a third area of guaranteed distress – corrosion.
Best Practices Project Management, Construction Of Gas Pipeline Project From Sichuan To Shanghai
The Sichuan-Shanghai Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline Project is the most significant gas pipeline built in China since the West East Pipeline was completed in 2005. The Sichuan-Shanghai pipeline is somewhat shorter than the West East Pipeline; however, its degree of difficulty in both design and construction makes it equivalent in stature.
CGA Study: 48% Of Homeowners Forgo Calling 811
A survey by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) found 48% of homeowners who plan to dig this year for projects that include landscaping, installing a fence or mailbox or building a deck, pond or patio, will put themselves and communities at risk by not calling 811 to learn the approximate location of underground utilities.
TransCanada Exec: Oil Lines Safer Than Rail
A TransCanada executive said opponents of the Alberta-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline should consider one consequence of delays in building the oil pipeline - an increase in dirtier and more dangerous rail transport. Alex Pourbaix, president of energy and oil pipelines at the Calgary-based pipeline company, said although rail has an important role to play in moving oil sands crude to market, there are downsides to consider.
Editor's Notebook: No Winners
API’s annual liquids pipeline conference last month in sunny San Diego was instead a scene of uneasiness for many of those in attendance. Chided by federal regulators for a recent uptick in pipeline incidents, the conference really culminated with the terse announcement that there were no winners among large operators for API’s prestigious Pipeline Distinguished Safety and Environmental Performance Award.
Automation Software Finds A Home In Pipelines
It isn’t hard to find companies that traditionally would not be involved in pipelines taking an active role in the industry. When an executive who is arms-deep in software technologies finds a special liking for the energy business, and is located about as far away from pipelines as one can be in the United States, he, too, must be a special individual.
Jibson Glows With Optimism Over Natural Gas Prospects
The facts and figures bear out that natural gas is THE product of the decade and with the Shale Gas Revolution barely underway, it’s just getting started. For the industry in the United States, which is leading the development, production and transportation of this valuable and environmentally friendly fuel, there has never been a more exciting time to be in the business.
Environmental Groups Challenges To Natural Gas Infrastructure Projects
Without question, the growing abundance of natural gas and the hydraulic fracturing process that has made it available have been a “game changer” for the energy industry - and have generated increased ire from the environmental community.
ICC Seeks Permit To Construct Brody-Plock Pipeline
Sarmatia International Pipeline Company (ICC) of Warsaw, Poland has filed for an environmental permit for the construction of the Brody-Plock (Adamova Zastava) pipeline with a possible extension to Gdansk or the West.
U.S. Gulf of Mexico: Transitioning Into A Bright Future
The worldwide financial crisis and subsequent recession, shale gas implications on U.S. natural gas prices and the aftermath of the Macondo incident have led to significant changes in the outlook for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Despite those obstacles, Quest Offshore's latest market report, Quest Deepwater Review: Gulf of Mexico, predicts a bright future for the GOM with a pronounced recovery expected in all major market segments from drilling to subsea, floating production and marine construction.
Pipeline Remote Operations: The Human Factor
This article presents a primary justification for an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), the Human Element. Human Factors is a critical component in all safety programs, particularly PHMSA CFR 49 Parts 190-194, Pipeline Safety. It is a relatively new, but mature science and an increasingly mature engineering discipline in the process industries. It is also an area that is often overlooked and not well understood.
Editor's Notebook: Setting Standards
Some important news broke March 20 likely to have major implications for the oil and gas industry going forward. In Pittsburgh, which has become the business hub for the Marcellus Shale, a consortium of environmental organizations, energy companies and philanthropic foundations have formed the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD). The goal is to provide producers with certification of performance standards for shale development.
PG&Es Pipeline System: From Hell And Back
In less than three years, the San Francisco-based combination utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) has had to reconstitute its vast natural gas transmission and distribution system on a scale that is unprecedented for the U.S. pipeline sector.
Not If But When: CERAWeek On Cybersecurity
Oil and gas companies need to change their perspective on cybersecurity initiatives from one of incident-based response to a holistic approach more analogous to counterintelligence to prevent espionage, said experts attending IHS CERAWeek 2013, March 4-8. A two-part strategy to decrease exposure and mitigate possible consequences was recommended for a realm where the consensus was that some degree of infiltration is nearly inevitable.
Obama Draft EIS On Keystone XL Leans Toward Project Approval
The Obama administration's positive draft environmental impact statement on the final, four-state legs of the Keystone XL pipeline appears to set approval by the State Department on an exorable path. The draft EIS cleared away the major roadblock: concerns that greenhouse gas emissions from extraction of tar sands in Alberta would be unacceptable. It also found no problem with a new route TransCanada developed to avoid passing through a vulnerable aquifer in the Sand Hills of Nebraska.
Elements Of An Engineering-Based Integrity Management Program
Establishing pipeline integrity requires identifying specific threats, understanding their relationship to the condition of the pipeline, and establishing what mitigative measures are appropriate to assure integrity. The pipeline industry has relied on many years of research and experience to develop a set of tools to perform qualitative analyses of pipeline integrity. With the implementation of the Integrity Management Program (IMP) by the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA), the analysis methods and results must be defendable and documented.
Report Says Chevron Should Have Replaced Leaky Pipe
Government investigators found that a decades-old pipe that leaked and caused a fire at a Chevron refinery in California was corroded, and the company knew it should have been replaced.
Greg Harper Ready To Tackle Pipeline Issues
Every year it seems that change is the one constant we can be sure of in the natural gas business. As we continue forward with the Shale Gas Revolution, we are continuing to see opportunities develop that were little more than dreams just a few years ago.
- 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
