Environment
California General Plans: What They Mean For Legacy Pipeline Management
Comprehensive land use planning gives local residents and interested stakeholders a chance to influence the management of future, anticipated community growth. But for pipeline owners, this planning process can carry other benefits and risks.
TransCanadas Gulf Coast Project Halfway Home; Service Expected This Year
Work on the 485-mile Gulf Coast Project pipeline has already progressed past the halfway point on all three of its spreads with TransCanada expecting the 36-inch pipe to be in service by the end of the year.
NiSource Outlines Long-Term Infrastructure Investment Plans
Following FERC approval of a customer settlement, NiSource’s Columbia Gas Transmission outlined plans for a five-year comprehensive pipeline infrastructure investment plan.
Managing Corrosion Of Pipelines That Transport Crude Oils
Oil and gas pipelines play a critical role in delivering the energy resources needed to power communities around the world. In the United States alone, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), more than 2.5 million miles of pipelines — enough pipeline to circle the earth approximately 100 times — deliver oil and gas to homes and businesses.
PHMSA Pressured to Turn on Pipeline Valves Rulemaking
A Columbia Gas & Transmission Corp. pipeline leak in West Virginia in December has reignited the debate over installation of automatic shutoff valves (ASVs) and remote control valves (RCVs) as a means of quickly limiting the potentially disastrous effects of a pipeline explosion and subsequent fire. The fire in Sissonville destroyed three homes and closed a section of a major highway for 14 hours.
Latest Threats To Pipeline, Production And Process Management Systems
<strong>The Secret War: Stuxnet, Duqu And Flame</strong> The highly complex computer worm called Stuxnet, targeted at sophisticated industrial control systems, was first identified in July 2010. The arrival of Stuxnet changed everything . . . it was a harbinger of the shape of things to come.
Public Awareness Effectiveness Measurement And Emergency Responder Communications
For many years, pipeline operators have been required to communicate safety information to emergency officials; however, actually making a difference with this type of communication is dependent upon the driver behind the effort. Is the operator merely checking the box to meet a compliance requirement or is the operator effectively communicating the right information to the right people in a timely manner?
Cyber Security And SCADA In Critical Infrastructure
Ensuring the stability and protection of critical infrastructure is essential to the nation's public health and safety, security, economic strength and way of life. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently revealed a rash of cyber attacks on natural gas pipeline companies.
INGAA, APCA, OSHA Ramp Up Pipeline Construction Safety Measures
The INGAA Foundation Inc. has released Construction Safety Consensus Guidelines designed to cover common natural gas construction operations such as basic personal protection equipment (PPE), pressure testing, overhead utilities safety, and trenching and excavation.
Solving The Cybersecurity Puzzle
“Energy firms have spent vast sums on the security of their information systems, but they must reorient from a reactive, tactical posture regarding intrusions and attacks to a more strategic, holistic view that expands beyond the categorization of the issue as only an IT problem."
N.D. Oil, Gas Industry Implements Environmental Practices
The Grand Forks Herald reports the Sporting and Oil Industry Forum has developed guidelines for North Dakota oil and gas producers to help decrease environmental impacts.
Canadian Oil Sands GHG 9% Higher Than U.S. Crude
The IHS Canadian Oil Sands Dialogue has updated its 2010 report comparing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from fuels made from Canadian oil sands to those from other crude sources.
Columbia Gas Pipeline Explodes In West Virginia
A 20-inch natural gas pipeline exploded near Charleston, WV Dec. 11, setting nearby buildings on fire and injuring several people, authorities said. The blast, on Nisource Gas Transmission and Storage’s Columbia Gas Transmission pipeline, occurred 1 p.m. near Sissonville, about 10 miles north of Charleston.
Private Sector Environmentalism Showing Bigger Impact In Energy Projects
Natural resource industries are well versed in the regulatory and rule-making impact of government agencies. Not as well understood and sometimes not even considered in decision making are the many private sector environmental concerned organizations like the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, or Greenpeace.
GE Engines Powering First LNG-Fueled Drilling Rigs In Marcellus Shale
To reduce the environmental impacts and improve the economic performance of their U.S. unconventional gas production activities, energy developer Seneca Resources Corp. and drilling partner Ensign Drilling have installed two of GE’s Jenbacher gas engines to power the first LNG-fueled drilling rigs of their kind in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania.
Industry Veterans Weigh In On Oil And Gas Development Internationally, Post-Election
Increasing production and continuing opportunity for the oil and gas markets were the focus of “A New World of Opportunity,” Deloitte’s 2012 oil and gas conference held Nov. 13 in Houston.
Damaged Ballast Tank Forces Evacuation Of Workers In Norwegian Sea
On Nov. 7, damage to a ballast tank on Floatel Superior working in the Norwegian Sea was discovered. Water seepage caused a 3-4 degree tilt that was corrected and rig stability was re-established.
Study Predicts 70 GW Of Fossil-Fired Capacity Retirements Next Four Years
ICF International’s Integrated Energy Outlook suggests that system operators must work with generators to coordinate more than 70 GW of fossil-fired capacity retirements and outages associated with 400 GW of new pollution control installations over the next four years.
Recognizing Benefits Of Pipeline Alarm Management
Whenever new regulations are introduced into any industry, they can be challenging as companies work to understand them, put together compliance plans, find technical solutions and identify the right processes and resources to help implement solutions.
Industry Leaders Evaluate Gas Utility Trends
With the continued growth of natural gas as a key ingredient in the nation’s fuel mix comes increased focus on operational excellence as federal and state regulators and lawmakers closely monitor utilities to ensure they are not just properly maintaining their vast networks, but also working pro-actively to ensure the public’s well-being.
Managing Environmental And Safety Risks Drives Energy Industry Veteran
In this age of specialization, the pipeline industry takes a back seat to no one. One company that has applied its talents to everything from pipeline system integrity to environmental and water resources to projects/transactions to litigation support and much more is Houston-based G2 Partners. Perhaps their most unique capability is providing turnkey solutions for what they term “environmentally distressed real estate.”
LNG Contracts Require Require Diligence, Caution
As natural gas prices in the United States approach their lowest point in a decade, several companies are in the early stages of developing liquefaction terminals to facilitate LNG exports.[1] Capacity at or output from these facilities is being snapped up by customers and buyers long before the facilities themselves are completed.
Composite Repair Users Group Talks Permitting At 2nd Annual Conference
The Composite Repair Users Group met for its 2nd Annual Conference and Exhibition on Sept. 7 in Houston. The one-day conference, which was free to attend, focused on the permitting status of composite repair techniques for pipelines, updating members on new advances, demonstrating methods and results from testing and discussing the state of the industry.
Industry Speaks Out On PHMSAs Penalty Proposals And Other Actions
Pipeline groups are unhappy with the way the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is interpreting the new penalty authority Congress provided it under the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, which went into effect in January.
Societal Risk Criteria And Pipelines
While the discussion of societal risk criteria for the process industry began in the 1970s - led primarily by the Dutch and British governments - the literature on the societal risk of hazardous goods transportation, particularly by pipeline, has been much more limited. For fixed facilities, F-N curves and individual risk calculations are broadly used to assess the risk to the general public.
TransCanada Updates Keystone XL Route
TransCanada Corporation announced on Sept. 5 that it has submitted a Supplemental Environmental Report (SER) to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) for the preferred alternative route for the Keystone XL Pipeline in Nebraska.
Obama Drilling Expansion In Alaska Falls Short For Some
ConocoPhillips Alaska, among the most active companies exploring for oil and gas in northern Alaska, found a lot not to like in the Obama administration decision in mid-August with regard to development of the 22.8 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
Pipeline Records Verification Compliance Questions For Operators
More than 2.5 million miles of pipelines, including 300,000 miles of gas transmission lines, criss-cross the U.S., carrying natural gas and a host of hazardous liquids that fuel the nation’s economy.
CO-2 Compression Research Advancing At SwRI
Coal is used to generate about half of all electricity consumed in the U.S. Unfortunately, coal contains high carbon content and produces double the CO-2 emissions when burned compared to natural gas. Because of growing concern over greenhouse gas emissions, the U.S. government and utilities are developing technologies to separate carbon dioxide both pre-and post-combustion.
Ziff Energy Group Now In Its 30th Year
Now marking its 30th year in business, Ziff Energy Group has earned a worldwide reputation for stellar consulting services that focus on groundbreaking operational benchmarking studies of onshore and offshore oil and natural gas fields along with long term natural gas supply, demand, and price forecasts for North America.
- 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
