Infrastructure

BP Agrees to Buy Shell's Stake in Australian Browse Gas Project

BP has agreed to buy rival giant Shell's 27% stake in the Browse joint venture, expanding its holding in Australia's largest untapped gas resource in a move that could improve the development prospects for the long-stalled project.

Chemours, TC Energy Partner to Develop Clean Hydrogen Facilities in West Virginia

Chemical maker Chemours Co. said it has partnered with pipeline operator TC Energy Corp. to develop two clean hydrogen production facilities in West Virginia.

Pipeline Operator TC Energy Beats Profit Estimates, Eyes Asset Sales to Fund Coastal GasLink Project

Canada's TC Energy Corp. beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit on Friday and said it was actively looking to sell $3.67 billion worth of assets this year to reduce debts and fund other projects, such as the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia that has seen major cost over-runs.

Shell's Zydeco Pipeline Shut on April 25 After Oil Leak

Shell Pipeline Co.'s Zydeco oil pipeline — which alleviates transportation bottlenecks of crude arriving in Houston from the Eagle Ford, Permian and Bakken regions — was shut on April 25 after a limited release of crude oil was detected in the Intracoastal Waterway.

US Venture Global Signs 20-Year LNG Supply Deal with Japan's JERA

U.S. company Venture Global LNG announced a deal to supply LNG to Japan's JERA for 20 years, where it agreed to sell 1 MTPA of LNG to JERA, Japan's biggest power generator and one of the world's biggest LNG buyers, from its CP2 LNG project.

RWE Says It Has No Interest in Operating LNG Infrastructure Long-Term

Germany's RWE said on Friday it had no interest in operating infrastructure for importing LNG in the long run, responding to a report saying it wanted to pull out of a controversial LNG project in the Baltic Sea.

Italy's Energy Dome Raises $44 Million to Focus on CO2 Storage in US

Energy Dome, an Italian startup focusing on CO2 energy storage solutions, said on Friday it had raised 40 million euros ($44 million) from investors to fund expansion in the U.S.

Norway Plans to Nationalize Gas Pipelines When Concessions Expire

Norway plans to nationalize most of its gas pipeline network when many existing concessions expire in 2028, the oil and energy ministry said on Friday, to tighten control over key infrastructure.

Xcel Energy Assessing Hydrogen Blending for Its US Gas Pipelines

(P&GJ) — Xcel Energy has contracted for a study of the feasibility of injecting and blending hydrogen into its 36,000 miles (57,936 km) of distribution and 2,200 miles (3,540 km) of transmission pipelines.

Pig Removal: Recovering an Obstruction in Pressurized 48-Inch Pipeline

(P&GJ) —Following the completion of an offshore pipeline isolation project, STATS were asked by the client if they could offer a solution to a problem of an obstruction in their 48-inch gas export pipeline. During routine launching of an inline inspection tool, a slipper tray was accidently carried into the pipeline and lodged in the first pipeline bend, above grade, about 39 meters from the launcher door.

First Nations: Canada’s New Infrastructure Power Brokers

(P&GJ) — After decades of largely contentious relations between Indigenous groups and energy infrastructure developers, Canada’s First Nations are beginning to embrace the economic opportunities that pipeline and export projects can offer – a trend that could make it easier to approve and complete future projects.

Offshore Pipeline Design for CCUS

(P&GJ) — Design and construction of CO2 pipelines are similar to natural gas transmission pipelines. However, there are differences like: thermodynamic modeling, blow down modeling, specifying the maximum water content, pipeline fracture propagation control, use of elastomer materials and performing a quantitative risk assessment, mainly related to release modeling and defining the allowable exposure limits. These factors require special attention for CO2 pipelines, when compared with natural gas.

Explainer: Can Joint Gas Buying Boost Europe's Energy Security?

The European Union opened a scheme this week for companies to jointly buy gas, aiming to secure supplies ahead of winter and avoid a repeat of last year's record-high energy prices.

Russia Looks to Companies Beyond Gazprom to Supply Gas to China

Russia is considering supplying natural gas to China by a 2,600-km (1,620-mile) pipeline from companies other than Kremlin-controlled Gazprom, which currently has the monopoly for Russian pipeline gas exports, an Energy Ministry official said on Tuesday.

Eni Launches $5 Billion Gas Liquefaction Project in Congo Republic

Italian energy group Eni and Congo Republic's government on Tuesday launched a $5 billion gas liquefaction project expected to reach a production capacity of 3 million tonnes per year in 2025.

PHMSA Update: Leak Detection Rules Point to Value of Regulation Compliance Service

(P&GJ) — To be able to operate within their regions, the onus is on pipeline operators to abide by leak detection and incident response rules. Federal regulators like the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) regularly implement new standards as part of their renewed focus on leak detection for natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines to ensure the people, public and environment are kept safe.

Offshore Innovation Seen as Key to Overcoming Obstacles

(P&GJ) — At mid-year 2022, an online industry report service using artificial intelligence (AI) enabled analytic tools released a worldwide assessment of offshore oil and natural gas prospects with a decidedly upbeat tenor.

Dutch Government Confirms Plan to Halt Gas Production in Groningen

The Dutch government said on Tuesday that it will invest $24.24 billion in the earthquake-stricken Groningen region while confirming plans to halt gas production there no later than 2024.

Energy Firms in Germany Join Up for Sea-to-Inland Hydrogen Route

Germany wants to build 10 gigawatts of green hydrogen capacity, made from solar and wind power, by 2030 and import massive volumes from overseas to help industries such as steelmaking or cement replace millions of tonnes of heavily carbon polluting "grey" hydrogen made with gas.

Control Rooms: Achieving SCADA Operational Readiness, Compliance

(P&GJ) — Implementing a comprehensive control room management (CRM) plan in today’s energy market can be a challenging task in that integrating it with modern supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems adds layers of complexity to the project’s implementation and compliance requirements.

Cenit: Colombia's Transandino Oil Pipeline Bombed

The Transandino Pipeline runs along Colombia's border with Ecuador, taking up to 85,000 barrels of crude per day to an export terminal in Tumaco, a Pacific port in the country's Narino province.

Nigeria's NNPC Says 384-Mile AKK Gas Pipeline Is 70% Complete

Construction of Nigeria's 614-km (384-mile) natural gas pipeline is 70% complete, the head of state oil firm NNPC said on Monday, missing a target he initially set to finish the project by the end of the first quarter.

Tellurian Receives US Approval for Driftwood Gas Pipelines

Liquefied natural gas developer Tellurian Inc. said on Monday the U.S. energy regulator had authorized Line 200 and Line 300 of its $1.4 billion Driftwood natural gas transmission pipeline project.

Pipeline Operator TC Energy Says Keystone Oil Spill Caused by Fatigue Crack

Canada's TC Energy on Friday said a 14,000-barrel oil spill from its Keystone pipeline in rural Kansas in December was primarily due to a progressive fatigue crack, which originated during the construction of the pipeline.

Chad Nationalizes Exxon’s 621-Mile Pipeline as Dispute Over Asset Sale Escalates

Chad has recalled its ambassador to neighboring Cameroon in the latest escalation of a dispute over the sale by Exxon Mobil of its oil assets in both countries to Savannah Energy.

Colombia's Cano Limon-Covenas Pipeline Attacked for Ninth Time in 2023

The suspension of pumping operations at Colombia's Cano Limon-Covenas oil pipeline will be prolonged after a new bombing attack damaged its infrastructure in the country's Arauca province, oil transportation company Cenit said.

Liberty Energy Says 15 New Frac Fleets to Hit US Market This Year

The second-largest U.S. shale fracturing firm Liberty Energy on Thursday said service firms have about 30 new frac fleets in development and about half of those will hit the market this year.

Tech Notes: Unpiggable In-Line Inspection Completed in South America

(P&GJ) — A team of Dexon pipeline engineers recently completed the inspection of a 20-mile (32-km), 3-inch diameter unpiggable or “challenging” underground petrochemical distribution pipeline, running from an onshore processing facility to a port on the South American coast.

Oman Hydrogen Options Include New Pipelines, Underground Storage

(P&GJ) — Oman is gearing up its efforts to attract international investment into developing hydrogen hubs in the country, including an extension of its bid submission deadline for its first site auction for green hydrogen projects.

PG&E Reduces Emissions from Gas Pipelines by More Than 20%

(P&GJ) — PG&E's Gas Operations and Engineering teams took a comprehensive approach to reduce emissions from the natural gas system, including enhancing the leak survey program that now assesses more than 42,000 miles of natural gas distribution pipeline every three years versus the previous every-five-years rotation.