Environment
What To Consider When Choosing A Gas Detector
PSE&G, with about 1.7 million gas customers in New Jersey, has a first responder program to ensure that technicians respond to a leak emergency call within 60 minutes or less1. To meet this goal, procedures are reviewed yearly, new service personnel receive extensive classroom and hands-on training, and apprentices are matched up with experienced technicians in a Field Experience Program for four months [1].
Water Usage Analysis Shows Natural Gas Less Intensive Than Coal
A new report from the Worldwatch Institute concludes that electricity produced from natural gas uses less water than electricity from coal on a life-cycle basis – even when natural gas comes from deep shale formations.
Guidelines For Successful LDC Pipe Replacement Programs
This article focuses on steps in developing a successful pipe replacement program at a local distribution company (LDC). It will review the elements of a distribution integrity management program (DIMP) plan relative to pipe replacement and will discuss: 1) the common criteria used to develop a program, 2) how to rank and prioritize pipe segments, 3) tips for creating a program timetable, 4) importance and usefulness of partnering with state and local officials, 5) efficiencies gained by creating simplified and practical standards, 6) identifying program resources, and 7) developing a program communications plan.
Alaska Report Calls For Improved Leak-Detection Technology On North Slope
Nearly every week on average since 1995, the North Slope oil fields have had a spill from a pipeline, a well, a tank or other equipment, according to a study by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation published last month in the Anchorage Daily News. That could be mitigated by close leak detection and pipeline regulation that might reduce the size and frequency of the spills, the study said.
Beyond San Bruno: An Industry Takes Stock
The energy pipeline industry works 24/7 to avoid “wake-up calls,” but when one comes, there is an obligation recognized by all segments to answer or find answers. That situation was no different in the wake of September’s natural gas transmission pipeline rupture in the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno.
EPA Sets Final Rule for GHG Measurement of Compressors and other Equipment, Mandates PCB Removal
The EPA made several concessions to the natural gas industry in its final greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring and reporting rule which the agency published at the end of October. The so-called "Subpart W" rule - 288 pages of complex technical language and charts - lays out the equipment in various natural gas and petroleum sectors which must be monitored for a group of GHGs, and prescribes the methods for that monitoring.
Canadian Standard Revised To Incorporate Higher Performance Plastic Pipe
Revisions have been approved to the Canadian standard dealing with the use of plastic pipe in oil and gas pipeline systems. The standard is CSA Z662-11 “Oil and Gas Pipeline Systems.” The revisions to be published next year include: <ul> <li>Added rapid crack propagation (RCP) required value of a full-scale critical pressure greater than 1.5 times the maximum operating pressure for polyethylene (PE) materials...</li>
Gulf Horizon Accident Shows How Unprepared Everyone Was
"Be Prepared!” Good motto for Boy Scouts and everyone else! On April 20, the BP Deepwater Horizon offshore rig caught fire. Eleven workers were killed, the rig in a few days was lost and the greatest environmental disaster to date was started. Now, roughly six months later, there are still many questions yet to be answered. What can we say about the calamity?
Exploring The Cost Of Lost Natural Gas
Volatility in natural gas prices for the past decade has not only impacted consumers, but also has changed corporate thinking. This volatility in the commercial, industrial, transportation and electric power sectors, in concert with global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions concerns, has created a paradigm shift in corporate attitude.
Major Pipeline Safety Reform Bill Is On The Way
Congress may vote during the lame duck session after the November elections on the biggest pipeline safety bill since the 2002 amendments established integrity management programs for distribution, transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines. Then again, a major reform bill may be delayed until the next Congress.
Simulation Of An Oil Leaks Path To The Gulf Of Bohai Sea In China
PetroChina Pipeline R&D Center has developed an environmental impact assessment model called the 3F Model for oil and gas pipelines. The name is an abbreviation for Flood-Flow-Forecast (3F). The Flow sub-model, as a part of 3F Model, is used to identify the oil leak paths and evaluate their impact on rivers or seas. The Flow sub-model is based on DEM, and some factors, such as soil absorption and evaporation, are also considered.
Refining Technology Targets Lower Emissions
Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. and Praxair, Inc. announced Nov. 4 the introduction of a new technology designed to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) units in refineries. The technology is intended to help refiners address increasingly stringent regulatory requirements while providing operational flexibility and lowering capital and operating costs.
Big Easy Offered Work, Networking And Fun For AGA Crowd
NEW ORLEANS, LA.-There has never been a time when representing the energy industry has been an easy job. In fact, that’s probably an understatement in this year of the oil spill that has brought unprecedented attention to the petroleum industry.
Plenty of Questions About San Bruno
In the wake of the deadly San Bruno, CA “incident,” as the industry likes to call it, that came in the wake of Enbridge’s problems in Michigan, Illinois and New York, which came in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the pipeline industry is going to have to come clean about the state of its infrastructure. Exactly how safe is the delivery system?
Approvals For TransCanada Tar Sand Pipeline Gets Sticky; Plus PMHSA Low-Stress Tug-Of-War And FERC Posting Edict
Despite criticism of his company's proposed nearly 2,000-mile pipeline through six states, Robert Jones, vice president, Keystone Pipelines, TransCanada Corporation, is very confident the U.S. State Department will approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Review Blames Alyeska Spill On Technical Glitch, Potential Design Failures, Human Error
An internal report by Alyeska Pipeline Co. said the May 25 spill of about 190,000 gallons of oil at a pump station near Delta Junction fits into part of a pattern of similar "significant" pipeline incidents over the past three years.
Oil Industry Financed Study Questions Ease Of Raising Ethanol Blends
Raising the amount of ethanol in gasoline blends would be much more complicated than ethanol supporters claim, according to the authors of a study commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute. Introducing higher blends of ethanol into gasoline sold at pumps across the U.S. would require changes in federal and state fuel-blending requirements, the distribution system of pipelines, tanks and pumps and labeling requirements, said analysts at Sierra Research who completed the study.
SHRIMP Helps Utilities Create DIMP Plans
In 2005 the American Public Gas Association (APGA) created the APGA Security and Integrity Foundation (SIF) to assist small operators to comply with their security and pipeline safety responsibilities. “Small operators” includes not only natural gas utilities but also master meter systems and propane piping systems that fall under the jurisdiction of pipeline safety rules. Initial efforts focused on training and operator qualification, but in 2006 when Congress mandated that PHMSA issue DIMP rules, the SIF, with support from PHMSA, began developing a model DIMP plan.
PG&E Ordered To Check Thousands Of Miles Of Pipes
The California Public Utilities Commission ordered Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to check for leaks in all of its thousands of miles of natural gas pipelines as federal investigators continued to investigate the deadly Sept. 2 San Bruno rupture and explosion.
September Newsreel: Peak Oil's Simmons Dies, Causes Of Enbridge MI Spill, AK Pipeline Could Cost $11B
<a href="http://pipelineandgasjournal.com/september-newsreel-peak-oils-simmons-dies-causes-enbridge-mi-spill-ak-pipeline-could-cost-11b#peak">Peak Oil Theorist Matthew Simmons Dies At 67</a> <a href="http://pipelineandgasjournal.com/september-newsreel-peak-oils-simmons-dies-causes-enbridge-mi-spill-ak-pipeline-could-cost-11b#tear">Enbridge Oil Spill Caused By Tear In Pipeline</a> <a href="http://pipelineandgasjournal.com/september-newsreel-peak-oils-simmons-dies-causes-enbridge-mi-spill-ak-pipeline-could-cost-11b?page=2#AKp">In-state Alaska Pipeline Could Cost Up To $11 Billion</a> <a href="http://pipelineandgasjournal.com/september-newsreel-peak-oils-simmons-dies-causes-enbridge-mi-spill-ak-pipeline-could-cost-11b?page=2#prci">Clifford Johnson Named President Of PRCI</a>
Safety Costs Big Oil's Wild Child
As Janet and I prepare for our annual vacation to the Poconos in northeastern Pennsylvania, there is one big question that I’m sure our friends will ask: is BP representative of the petroleum industry? The answer is “no”. To prove that, I need only point to a front-page story on Aug. 12: “BP To Pay Record Fine Of $50 Million For Texas Accident.”
How Rod West Overcame the Challenge from Hell
Five years have passed since the monster named Katrina wreaked unprecedented destruction and death upon the grand old city of New Orleans. A worldwide audience watched transfixed by horrific images of misery, destruction and death. Those who rushed in to provide emergency aid were left speechless by the scenes that greeted them.
Fracing Disclosure Main Concern In Senate Energy Bill; Incentives For NG Vehicles Included
The energy bill the Senate is to finally take up in September is primarily a "BP-response" bill and contains none of the greenhouse gas emission reductions that Democrats had hoped to bring to a vote in a "Climate Change" bill, which is dead for this year.
Gas Management Solutions In Oil Production
Oil production generally involves the processing of upstream fluids into a crude oil that meets certain specifications. This is typically done at a field processing facility and involves a number of operations in different processing systems within the facility. One primary function of this processing is “phase separation” to remove water, solids and gas from the produced fluid, thereby producing crude oil that meets the specifications and provides the main source of income for the operator.
Pipelines Or Platforms All In Days Work For Greenes
These days in the Oil Patch, it takes a combination of brains, experience and an uncanny ability to match risks with rewards to be successful. It also helps if you earn yourself a special niche for quality of service. And that is what Greene’s Energy Group has quietly but effectively accomplished since it began operations in 1953: Formed by H. Rowe Greene, Sr. as a spin-off from Halliburton, Greene’s specialized in testing blowout preventers used in drilling.
Brazilian Ethanol Pipeline Wins Preliminary Approval
The Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) has issued a preliminary license for implantation of the Ethanol Pipeline Distribution System planned by PMCC Projetos de Transporte de Alcool S.A, a partnership between Petrobras, Mitsui & Co.LTD and Camargo Correa S/A.
NTSB Head Pushes Expansion Of Transmission IM Program, Pipeline Accidents Raise Questions, EPA Improves GHG Reporting For Pipelines
The BP Deepwater Horizon spill continues to have ramifications for pipeline safety even though neither gas nor oil pipelines had anything to do with the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Nonetheless, "BP" is an entry point for Congress and others to show renewed concern about potential environmental accidents from all sorts of energy activities.
High Precision With Ultrasonic Pigging
Being subject to appropriate inspections, pipelines and piping/pipework offer an almost unlimited service life. Strength and actual service capabilities must be assessed at regular intervals. Especially for thin-walled pipes made of high-strength steel, it is of particular importance to conduct regular inspections and examinations to detect any flaws and defects before they actually start to cause problems. Here, ultrasonic and magnetic flux leakage (MFL) pigs have been established as proven and suitable tools for inspection applications.
Ruby Pipeline Receives FERC Approval to Begin Construction
El Paso Corporation announced August 2 that the Ruby Pipeline Project has received FERC approval to proceed and begin construction.
BP Spill Produces Pressure For Pipeline Safety Revisions; House Committee Ups DWSRF Authorization Levels
While the impact of the BP oil spill on offshore oil and gas development is already obvious, its impact on pipeline safety is less so, despite what promise to be ramifications. That was clear from the hearings in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on May 20 where both Democrats and Republicans peppered Cynthia Quarterman, the new administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, with questions about the agency's existing plans for oil and gas accidents.
- 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
