Editor's Notebook
Editor’s Notebook: TMX Expansion Faces Quality Concerns from West Coast Refiners
For a couple of months now, U.S. West Coast oil refiners have been voicing concerns about some of the attributes of crude oil being shipped along the recently completed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) from Canada.
‘Capricious’ You Say?
Is it just me or does the decision by the D.C. appeals court to throw out FERC’s approval of a Williams Cos. pipeline project due to the regulator’s “arbitrary and capricious” review process seem a bit more short-sighted than usual?
Editor’s Notebook: Alaska’s New LNG Pipeline Push Faces Long Odds
Pipeline & Gas Journal Exclusive: Alaska’s ambitious LNG pipeline project might seem like a game-changer, but significant hurdles remain. In this Editor’s Notebook, we dive into the latest developments, investor concerns, and what it all means for the future of U.S. energy exports. Can the Last Frontier overcome the odds?
Editor’s Notebook: Landowners and CO2 Pipelines Amid South Dakota Legislation
(P&GJ) — South Dakota's new bill empowers landowners to challenge forced easements for CO2 pipelines, enhancing rights amid eminent domain concerns. The legislation impacts projects like Summit Carbon Solutions, aiming for fairer terms and compensation for affected property owners.
Editor’s Notebook: Permian’s New Kid on the Block?
As the 580-mile Matterhorn Express prepares to go into service next quarter, a new long-haul gas pipeline is looking to step forward as the next major Gulf Coast midstream project.
Editor’s Notebook: M&A Appears Here to Stay
It appears likely that the wave of midstream merger-and-acquisition activity of the past few years hasn’t reached its peak yet. In fact, to hear some insiders tell it, a full-on tsunami may not be far away.
Editor’s Notebook: Few Winners in Iraq-Turkey Pipeline Fallout
Increasingly frustrated by impasses regionally, the eight member companies of the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) have gone so far as requesting that two U.S. lawmakers exert pressure on Iraq to reopen the Iraqi-Türkiye pipeline.
Editor’s Notebook: Nord Stream’s $20 Billion Question
It has been more than two years since the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines and still nobody knows for sure who were the perpetrators – or if they do, they are not saying so publicly.
Editor’s Notebook: Niger’s Bold Move as Exporter
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.
Editor’s Notebook: In Canada, A Tale of Two Pipelines
Well, well, well. It looks as if Canada is likely to be in the market for some new pipelines if word that the nation’s oil and gas producers plan to drill 8% more wells in 2024 comes to pass.
Editor’s Notebook: Trouble in the Heartland
(P&GJ) — It seems that even CO2 pipelines — a centerpiece of the Biden administration’s net zero greenhouse gas reductions policy — can’t catch a break when it comes to getting out of the starting block where permitting and public opinion are concerned.
Editor’s Notebook: It Could Have Been Worse, Revisited
(P&GJ) — With its approval of the Willow Project on the North Slope Alaska early this year, along with its continued of drilling permits on federal lands, the Biden administration has begun to show at least some desire to play ball where oil projects are involved, much to the chagrin of the anti-fossil fuel forces.
Editor’s Notebook: ‘Peace Pipeline’ Project Appears Dead
At least for a while over the last couple of decades, the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline was perceived by some as something that would bring at least a measure of harmony to Pakistan’s relationship with Iran. However, once again, the project has been shelved – this time apparently under U.S. pressure.
Editor's Notebook: Colorado’s Bold Initiative
(P&GJ) — The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) recently adopted rules aimed at increasing repair inspections and leak detection at oil and gas facilities throughout the state. While these new guidelines do not affect midstream directly, there are implications for the sector due to the growing emphasis on carbon-capture and related pipelines.
Editor’s Notebook: Is Rerouting Line 5 the Best Option?
(P&GJ) — In a ruling that could be interpreted as a split decision, a U.S. District Court judge has told Enbridge it can continue to operate its Line 5 pipeline through an indigenous people’s territory but must relocate a portion of the line by 2026.
Editor’s Notebook: Alaska’s Long Road Back
(P&GJ) — With the Biden administration’s recent approval of exports from a proposed LNG project and the rejection of a lawsuit challenging construction of related infrastructure, prospects may again be looking up again for the Final Frontier.
See You at the Movies … OK, Probably Not
(P&GJ) — The movie "How to Blow Up a Pipeline" tells a fictional story set in West Texas, where a group of people from different walks of life band together for various reasons and decide to blow up a pipeline. You already know the muddled thinking behind arriving at this decision – you've heard it before.
Editor’s Notebook: Nord Stream Questions Grow Murkier
(P&GJ) — While the investigation into who deliberately blew up Nord Stream continues, the operator of the previously functional first line appears to be taking a serious look at how it will seal and empty the pipeline before more damage occurs.
Editor’s Notebook: California’s Pipeline, CCUS Quandary
(P&GJ) — California, in laying out a bold clean air initiative, has placed a great deal of emphasis on carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) in an effort to start removing the same amount of carbon from the air as what the state emits by 2045.
Editor’s Notebook: Getting the CO2 Out
(P&GJ) — Navigator Heartland Greenway has voluntarily withdrawn its application for a certificate of authority to build a 250-mile portion of its CO2 pipeline through a part of western Illinois, but the company said it plans to refile soon.
Coastal GasLink’s Year of Milestones
(P&GJ) — As 2022 drew to a close, news came that one of the more complex pipelines projects ever seen in North America, the Coastal Gaslink project, had eclipsed the 80% completion mark in British Columbia. The project, in combination with the Kitimat LNG plant, is the largest Canadian infrastructure investment since the 1950s when the St. Lawrence Seaway was constructed.
Editor’s Notebook: Big Early Win for Northwest Capacity
(P&GJ) — The venerable Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline system, which runs from the Canadian border to California, appears headed toward an important regulatory victory in the effort to increase its capacity by about 150 MMcf/d.
Editor’s Notebook: The Digital Future Is Now
(P&GJ) — For the past 163 years, Pipeline & Gas Journal has arrived in our readers’ mailboxes each month without fail. This, however, the December issue, will be our final printed edition of the magazine. Rest assured, though, we are not going away – not by a long shot.
Editor’s Notebook: Sabotage at the Highest Level?
(P&GJ) — Amid the finger-pointing and alternative conclusions that come with just about everything involving the energy sector these days, one hard fact has emerged concerning the Nord Stream: Someone deliberately blew four holes in its pipelines during a three-day period.
Editor’s Notebook: Line 5’s Legal Saga Continues
(P&GJ) — With Enbridge’s Line 5 recently prevailing when a judge ruled against the state of Michigan’s lawsuit to shut down the petroleum pipeline, which runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac, the pipeline operator now finds itself in the odd position of being backed by the invocation of an international treaty for the second time.
Manchin’s ‘Deal’ Revisited
(P&GJ) — On the surface, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia’s surprise deal with the Democratic leadership of Congress, which would potentially clear the way for the 94% completed Mountain Valley Pipeline to finally be completed, appeared to be a major win for midstream.
For Producers, It’s that Time
(P&GJ) — Oddly enough, the very source of the boom that put some wind behind the sails of the energy industry over the past decade and a half – the Shale Revolution – has become, to a large extent, a snag for production growth.
US Midstream and the Russia Factor
With much of the world shunning Russian energy as prices surge, the resulting systematic upheaval in dynamics has the potential to alter oil and gas supply trends and trade partnerships for years to come.
Biden’s ‘Big Project’ Environmental Reviews
With the Biden administration bringing back a stricter review process for pipeline and other major infrastructure projects, it seemed like a good time to look at the origin of the policy and what the change will entail.
Another Pothole in the Road
With its new policy declaring that greenhouse gas and “environmental justice” must be taken into account during the approval process for natural gas pipelines, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has outdone itself in further muddying the road forward for future projects.
- Energy Transfer Subsidiary Selects KTJV for Lake Charles LNG Export Project
- 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
- 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
