Integrity
2 Workers Killed, 1 Hurt in Texas Gas Pipeline Accident
WOODSBORO, Texas (AP) — Two workers have been killed and another was hurt during a high-pressure release as the men repaired a South Texas gas pipeline. Refugio County authorities say the accident happened Tuesday at a Southcross Energy Partners plant near Woodsboro. Justice of the Peace Lorraine ..
US Judge OKs $20 Billion BP Oil Spill Settlement
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge in New Orleans granted final approval Monday to an estimated $20 billion settlement over the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, resolving years of litigation over the worst offshore spill in the nation’s history. The settlement, first announced in July, in..
TransCanada Says Spill Shut Down Keystone Pipeline
FREEMAN, S.D. (AP) — TransCanada Corp. says the Keystone pipeline will likely remain shut down for the rest of the week while officials investigate an apparent oil spill in southeastern South Dakota. Oil was discovered on a 300-square-foot area in a ditch near a Freeman-area pump station. About 1..
Gas Line Explosions Bring New Safety Proposal
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials moved Thursday to strengthen safety rules for the nation’s 300,000-mile network of natural gas transmission pipelines in response to numerous fiery accidents, including a 2010 California explosion that killed eight people and injured more than 50. The Departmen..
Low-Temperature Tempering on Mechanical Properties of Induction Bends
Special to Pipeline & Gas Journal Operating for nearly 30 years, Triple D Bending is considered Western Canada’s leading bender. With three Induction Benders, state-of-the art technology and a partnership with Prooftest Consulting Inc., research and development projects are a consistent priority fo..
Study: California Leak Was Top Methane Release in US History
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A natural gas leak that sickened Los Angeles residents and forced thousands from their homes was the largest known release of climate-changing methane in U.S. history, scientists reported Thursday. The 16-week blowout from a well at a Southern California Gas Co. storage facility ..
SoCalGas Facility Must Pass Tougher Tests to Operate Again
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The gas storage facility that spewed methane uncontrollably for almost four months, driving thousands of families from their homes, won’t resume operations until it has undergone tougher tests than ever required before, a process that will take months and perhaps even longer. T..
Lawmakers Mull Moratorium on SoCalGas Storage Facility
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers are considering legislation that would prevent a utility from resuming full operations at a facility that had a massive natural gas leak for nearly four months. The bill requiring testing of wells at the Southern California Gas Co. facility near Los ..
California Declares Massive Natural Gas Leak Sealed
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A blowout at a natural gas well that spewed massive amounts of climate-changing methane for nearly four months and drove thousands of Los Angeles families from their homes has been permanently sealed, state officials declared Thursday. The announcement certifying that the ruptu..
PHMSA: Pipe Corrosion Led to Santa Barbara Oil Spill
LOS ANGELES (AP) — External corrosion on an oil pipeline was the root cause of a leak that spilled more than 140,000 gallons of crude on the Santa Barbara coast in May, federal regulators reported. The spill occurred after pumps on the Plains All American Pipeline were shut down and restarted, se..
Cliff Meidl’s Personal Mission: Your Safety
It is near impossible to find a better representative speaking for the underground construction industry than Cliff Meidl, a kayaker whose heroic triumph over adversity brought him such acclaim that he was nominated to lead Team USA at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Meidl is..
Mobile Inspection Forms Cut Time, Maximize Accuracy of Audits
Recordkeeping increasingly is the linchpin for the safe, reliable construction and operation of energy pipeline systems. In both the aftermath of natural gas pipeline incidents and in the attempts to develop a more sophisticated safety culture that employs technology advances to expand preventive ma..
Does Aligning Cybersecurity, Process Safety Approaches Reduce Risk?
Cyber-attacks are more hostile and frequent than ever. We’ve all heard news stories about how intellectual property and private information have been stolen by hackers. When this happens, it can be costly in some cases and embarrassing in others. However, for industrial operations, the stakes are mu..
Automated Pigging Systems Prove Proficient in Savings, Energy Efficiencies
Pigging systems are installed on pipeline systems for the purpose of inserting a pipeline pig into the pipe without interruption of the pipeline flow. Pipeline pigs are typically sized to the nominal pipeline diameter and configured of different designs and materials to serve the purpose of cleaning..
Los Angeles DA Charges Utility with Crimes for Gas Leak
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles prosecutors filed misdemeanor criminal charges Tuesday against a utility for failing to immediately report a natural gas leak that has been gushing nonstop for nearly 15 weeks. District Attorney Jackie Lacey said the charges aren’t a solution to the problem, but Sou..
Storage Site Leak Raises Environmental, Reliability Concerns
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) detected a major leak Oct. 23 at Aliso Canyon, an underground natural gas storage facility located 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The Aliso Canyon storage facility, which has 115 wells, is the second-largest natural gas storage field in the western Unit..
Congress Cautiously Looks at Passing 1st Energy Bill since 2007
The U.S. Senate will kick off deliberations over a potentially bipartisan energy bill this week. Reaching consensus on energy legislation has been notoriously difficult, but the Republican lead on energy in the U.S. Senate believes that they could push something through for the first time in almost..
Statoil Awards Johan Svedrup Pipeline Contracts
Statoil has, on behalf of the Johan Sverdrup partners, awarded contracts for the line pipe, coating and pipe installation of the Johan Sverdrup export pipelines. The total contract value is estimated at slightly less than 2.5 billion Norwegian Krone ($279 million). The three contracts cover both th..
Cybercrime and Utilities: Preparing for Attack
Cyber-crime is one of the biggest threats organizations face. Computers control almost everything we do, from the level of chlorine put into our water to the electricity supply into our town. Hackers are fully aware of this, and they understand if they infiltrate these systems or do anything to jeop..
Canada to Step Up Climate Scrutiny on Oil Pipelines
The Canadian government is set to impose stricter criteria for evaluating major energy infrastructure projects like oil and gas pipelines or liquefied natural gas export terminals. The federal government is reportedly planning on adding a “climate test” for proposed projects, an extra hurdle for la..
Company Executive Blames Decade-Old Oil Leak on 'Act of God'
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A decade-old oil leak that could last for another century was caused by an “act of God” during a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, the president of the company responsible said Wednesday. Taylor Energy President William Pecue told a gathering of industry experts and environ..
Industry Becoming More Comfortable with Excess Flow Valves
When I first joined the natural gas industry in 1981, excess flow valves (EFVs) were the most controversial issue in distribution pipeline safety. EFVs are simple devices installed in gas-service lines at the connection to the main that remain open under normal flows but close if a surge in flow exc..
TDW Repairs Exposed Beach Gas Pipeline in 3 Weeks
A beach in a highly populated tourist area is hardly an ideal work site. But when a 42-inch gas pipeline laid parallel to the seashore shifted and became exposed on the beach near Ubhrat, India, crews had to overcome several unusual challenges posed by the surrounding landscape and notable environme..
Measuring Methane Emissions: Part of Gas Pipelines’ Future
When examining the growing cottage industry of methane emissions control, it is clear upfront that it is one of the toughest sub-specialties in the emerging conglomerate that makes up the national response to climate change impacts. Researchers, engineers and public-policy wonks must start with the ..
Survey Finds Natural Gas Industry Still Upbeat, Just Less So
While the majority of those in the natural gas industry remain optimistic about growth between now and 2020, the numbers from a Black & Veatch survey clearly indicate that “the exuberance of 2014 is waning.” According to the 2015 Strategic Directions: U.S. Natural Gas Industry Report, even as deman..
AP Investigation: US Power Grid Vulnerable to Foreign Hacks
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyber-attackers had opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid.
Los Angeles Sues Gas Company over 6-Week-Old Leak
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles city attorney has sued the Southern California Gas Co. over a 6-week-old natural gas leak that has sparked complaints of illness and forced hundreds of families out of a San Fernando Valley neighborhood. The Superior Court lawsuit alleges unfair competition and creation of a public nuisance.
Robot Works Below Iconic Scotland Street to Repair Pipeline
ULC Robotics, a leading robotics, energy services and research/development company focused on the energy and utility industries, deployed its Cast Iron Joint Sealing Robot (CISBOT) for the first time in Scotland on busy George Street in Edinburgh this past summer. Similar to Fifth Avenue in New York City, the visitors and high-end shop owners along George Street had minimal disturbance to their normal routines because CISBOT because is virtually invisible.
APGA Determined to Have Its Voice Heard on Capitol Hill
Leading a natural gas distribution company is always a challenge because there are few businesses that deal so directly with their customer base, be it residential, commercial or industrial, as well as safety regulators, equipment and service providers, not to mention the city council or utility board that approves rates.
Los Angeles Sues Gas Company over 6-Week-Old Leak (1)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles city attorney sued the Southern California Gas Co. on Monday over a 6-week-old natural gas leak that has sparked complaints of illness and forced hundreds of families out of a San Fernando Valley neighborhood. The Superior Court lawsuit alleges unfair competition and creation of a public nuisance.
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