Integrity
Interior Dept.: High-Risk Oil, Gas Wells Checks Lack Funding for Inspections
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management lacks sufficient resources to inspect high-risk oil and gas wells on federal land as a drilling boom continues in Wyoming, Colorado and other states, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said Tuesday. The Obama administration has proposed a fee on oil and gas drillers that would allow the land management agency to hire more than 60 inspectors, but the proposal has not gained traction in Congress.
Strategy Report Points to Improved Safety, Smart Pigs
With liquids pipeline incidents down by half since 1999, even as their use to transport crude oil pipeline has increased, there is little doubt among experts about what has led to this success on the safety front – preventive maintenance and integrity management programs.
Big Cities Scramble in Preparation for Possible Oil Train Disaster
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — They rumble past schools, homes and businesses in dozens of cities around the country — 100-car trains loaded with crude oil from the Upper Midwest. While railroads have long carried hazardous materials through congested urban areas, cities are now scrambling to formulate emergency plans and to train firefighters amid the latest safety threat: a fiftyfold increase in crude shipments that critics say has put millions of people living or working near the tracks at heightened risk of derailment, fire and explosion.
Clean Up of Mississippi River to Begin after Tow Boat Collision Spills Oil
COLUMBUS, Ky. (AP) — Clean up crews planned to go into the Mississippi River on Friday in Kentucky after a collision between two tow boats caused an oil spill that prompted the closure of that part of the river. The collision Wednesday evening near Columbus, KY, damaged at least one barge carrying clarified slurry oil. The cargo tank ruptured, causing thousands of gallons of oil to spill into the river, the U.S. Coast Guard said. No injuries were reported. The river was closed Thursday from mile-markers 938 to 922, Petty Officer Lora Ratliff said.
EIA Says Effects of Removing Crude Export Limits Depend on Price, Resource Assumptions
A new study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on the potential implications of allowing more crude oil exports finds that effects on domestic crude oil production are key to determining the other effects of a policy change. Gasoline prices would be either unchanged or slightly reduced. Trade in crude oil and petroleum products would also be affected.
Cost, Length of Exxon's Cleanup Still Unclear after Deal
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The $225 million settlement between ExxonMobil and New Jersey reached this week confirms the oil giant must clean up more than 1,500 contaminated properties from gas stations to refineries — but exactly how much they'll spend or how long it'll take remains murky.
Beyond Compliance: Reducing Major Incidents, Creating Business Value
In the five years since the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, operators have undergone progressively tighter regulatory restrictions in both offshore and onshore environments. Along with restructuring the Department of the Interior to include the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), more than seventeen reforms have been implemented since the 2010 accident, targeting everything from well-design to maintenance reviews to safety culture.
3 Contract Workers Injured after Pipeline Ruptures in Gulf
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three workers were injured after a natural gas pipeline ruptured in the Gulf of Mexico about 25 miles south of Marsh Island. Petty Officer Ryan Tippets said the rupture caused the pipeline to catch fire. He said the injured crew members were taken to a hospital in Houma, LA with minor injuries. He said the Coast Guard received notification of the rupture at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Settlement Reached in Lawsuit over Decade-Old Gulf Oil Leak
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Environmental groups and a New Orleans energy company have reached a settlement agreement in a lawsuit stemming from the company's failed efforts to stop a decade-old, slow-motion oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
NJ Judge Approves Christie's $225 Million Settlement with Exxon
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey judge approved a $225 million deal Tuesday between Gov. Chris Christie's administration and ExxonMobil over dozens of polluted sites and nearly 2,000 retail gas stations. Superior Court Judge Michael Hogan ruled that while the deal is much less than the $8.9 billion the state originally sought, it is a "reasonable compromise" considering "substantial litigation risks" faced by the state in the 11-year-old case that spanned Democratic and Republican governors.
NAPCA Workshop Looks at Changing Energy Environment
</em>NAPCA held its annual one-day workshop Thursday in Houston as the industry struggles to find solutions amid market conditions that can be characterized as anything but certain. As one speaker, Dolty Cheramie, president of Pipe Exchange, put it, ““No CEO or anyone else has one single minute of experience in the market we are in today.” During his presentation, “A Look at the Oilpatch,” Cheramie didn’t pull any punches in what he saw a rough sledding for at least the next couple of years.
Pipeline Expert Peter Lidiak Ready for New Challenge
At the American Petroleum Institute’s spring pipeline conference in Savannah, GA one bit of news in particular grabbed attendees’ attention when it was announced that Pipeline Director Peter T. Lidiak was leaving his post after serving as API’s go-to pipeline executive since 2005. Lidiak, who joined API in 2000, is one of the nation’s leading experts on crude oil pipelines, testifying before countless congressional and agency hearings in Washington, D.C. and having a hand in practically any issue involving pipelines.
Pipeline Expert Peter Lidiak Ready for New Challenge (1)
At the American Petroleum Institute’s spring pipeline conference in Savannah, GA one bit of news in particular grabbed attendees’ attention when it was announced that Pipeline Director Peter T. Lidiak was leaving his post after serving as API’s go-to pipeline executive since 2005. Lidiak, who joined API in 2000, is one of the nation’s leading experts on crude oil pipelines, testifying before countless congressional and agency hearings in Washington, D.C. and having a hand in practically any issue involving pipelines.
Survey: IT Experts Confident of Ability to Detect Critical Attacks
A new survey of over 400 energy executives and IT professionals in the energy, oil, gas and utility industries found that most energy security professionals were extremely confident in their ability to detect a cyber-attack on critical systems, with 86% stating they could detect a breach in less than one week.
PG&E Pays California $300 Million Toward Penalty for Pipeline Incident
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California's biggest power utility says it's paid a $300 million penalty to the state's general fund for a 2010 gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed more than three dozen homes in suburban San Francisco. The payment announced Thursday by is part of a larger $1.6 billion penalty levied against Pacific Gas & Electric earlier this year for the blast in San Bruno.
ExxonMobil Fined Following Probe into Refinery Incident
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California agency that investigates workplace accidents has cited and fined ExxonMobil more than $560,000 for workplace safety and health violations following a probe into February's explosion at a Los Angeles-area refinery.
ExxonMobil Fined Following Probe into Refinery Incident (1)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The California agency that investigates workplace accidents has cited and fined ExxonMobil more than $560,000 for workplace safety and health violations following a probe into February's explosion at a Los Angeles-area refinery.
Darby Family Continues to Grow
Pipeline contractors now have an alternative source for reliable pipeline coating. Darby Equipment Company has teamed with Dennis Roberson, an established leader in the field-coating industry, to form Pipeline Coating Services (PCS). The new company will be a division of Darby with its own branding and will provide pipeline contractors with newly engineered coating equipment designed for optimum ease of use and consistent results when applying high-quality fusion bonded epoxy (FBE) to all sizes of steel pipe joints.
Key Issues Taken on at Pipeline Conference
Pipeline & Gas Journal’s 11th annual Pipeline Opportunities Conference brought in 400 attendees from throughout North America, all focused on getting the most up-to-date information regarding the oil and natural gas industry. In addition to a full day’s worth of conference presentations and roundtables, guests had ample time to network during the even held March 24 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston’s Galleria district.
NACE President Seeks to Diversify Services for Rapidly Growing Membership
Raised in Pittsburgh, Jim Feather, NACE International’s 2015 president, says he grew up “not only with the steel metallurgy industry in my blood but also in my nostrils.” And while Feather did work directly in the steel industry as a sophomore through a co-op program at Carnegie-Mellon University, even then he could see “the writing on the wall” concerning steel’s long-term future in the United States.
STATS Group Completes Complex Isolation of North Sea Pipeline
Pipeline engineering specialist STATS Group was contracted by Apache North Sea Ltd. to isolate the Forties Pipeline System (FPS) so that subsea isolation valves (SSIV) and piping spools could be safely installed and leak tested, avoiding the need to depressurize the entire pipeline system. The 36-inch main crude oil line is a major pipeline network in the North Sea carrying 40% of the UK's oil, with over 50 offshore assets flowing into the 169-km FPS, which runs from Forties Charlie platform to Cruden Bay terminal, transporting 700,000 bpd.
Pigging Takes Aim at Paraffin Content in Shale Play Pipes
At a meeting of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Association, Michael Wojchiechowski, an economist at global energy consultant Wood Mackenzie, referred to the production from U.S. shale deposits as a “tight-oil tidal wave” – in other words, a large, unstoppable, liquid force. But as operators from the Bakken to the Eagle Ford and Niobrara to Marcellus know, there are plenty of challenges to keeping that enormous flow going, one being the high paraffin content of shale oil.
California Oil Spill May Have Been Far Larger than Projected
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An oil spill from a ruptured pipeline near Santa Barbara, California, that fouled beaches for miles may have been far larger in volume than earlier projected. Plains All American Pipeline had estimated the May 19 spill at up to 101,000 gallons. But in documents released Wednesday, the Texas-based company said alternate calculations found the spill might have been up to 143,000 gallons. The company is continuing its analysis and the figures are preliminary.
Aegion Wins Coating Contract in Caspian Sea Region
Aegion Corporation’s Corrosion Protection unit was awarded three contracts with a combined value of about $32 million. The Aegion Coatings Services group received a contract in the Caspian Sea region to perform outer-diameter field coatings for a 300-mile onshore natural gas pipeline expansion. The project is expected to begin in fall 2015, finishing at the end of 2017.
Scientist: Oil Slick Likely from Natural Seafloor Seepage
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Coast Guard officials were still trying to determine the source of a mysterious miles-long oil slick off California's Santa Barbara County shoreline, but a scientist said Thursday that it's likely the result of naturally occurring seepage from the sea floor. Authorities said the 3-mile sheen was harmless to people and beaches remained open — in contrast to the mass closure that occurred in May when a broken pipeline spilled 100,000 gallons of crude oil, fouling sands, seabirds and fishing areas in the same general area.
Report: Columbia Gas Followed Rules Prior to Hotel Explosion
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Investigators say Columbia Gas of Kentucky did not violate any safety rules at a Lexington hotel that exploded last year after a natural gas leak. The Kentucky Public Service Commission announced Wednesday that an investigation revealed that the gas company followed safety regulations regarding protection of meters from accidental damage.
Dig It! Safe-Utilities Law Stakes Claim over Campaign Signs
PHOENIX (AP) — With city elections in Phoenix next month and 2016 races around the corner, Arizona regulators are warning people that they might need to pull up stakes on the many campaign signs on lawns and street corners. Signs installed without prior inspection could create danger around utility lines and bring hefty fines, according to a longtime state law. The Arizona Blue Stake law mandates that anyone doing excavation must have utility lines marked first. It's a law that was enacted in 1974 and has been enforced by the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Part II: Presidents Report Finds Need to Bolster Vulnerable Infrastructure
<em>Editor’s note: This second of a three-part series on the first-ever presidential Quadrennial Energy Review 2015 focuses on the safety and vulnerabilities of transportation, storage and distribution (TS&D) infrastructure and methane emissions</em>. Natural disasters pose a significant safety risk to the nation’s TS&D infrastructure. In 2012, there were 11 weather disasters in the United States costing $1 billion, second only to 2011 for the most on record. Insurance data in the QER reports $22 billion in total losses from weather events in 2013, excluding self-insured losses.
Rail Cars Leaking Crude After Train Derails in Montana
CULBERTSON, Mont. (AP) — More than 20 cars on an oil train derailed in rural northeastern Montana, and at least three of them were leaking crude, leading some homes to be evacuated, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injury or fire, but of the 21 cars that derailed Thursday evening, only two remained upright, Roosevelt County Sheriff Jason Frederick said.
PHMSA Issues Rules for State Pipeline Excavation Damage Prevention, Enforcement
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today announced the issuance of a final rule to establish the process for evaluating State excavation damage prevention programs and enforcing Federal standards in states where such requirements are inadequate or do not exist.
- Freeport LNG Plant Runs Near Zero Consumption for Fifth Day
- Biden Administration Buys Oil for Emergency Reserve Above Target Price
- Mexico Seizes Air Liquide's Hydrogen Plant at Pemex Refinery
- Kinder Morgan Declares Force Majeure on West Texas Gas Pipeline After Fire
- Williams Delays Louisiana Pipeline Project Amid Dispute with Competitor Energy Transfer
- Pipeline Hydro Test Pressure Determination
- Venezuela Proposes Alternative Payment Plan as Weak Bids Surface in Citgo Auction
- Baker Hughes Wins Contract for Huge Aramco Gas Expansion Project
- Enbridge Picks Contractors for Great Lakes Tunnel Project, Securing Line 5 Pipeline Route
- Russia's Gazprom Sees Worst Loss in Decades as European Gas Sales Collapse
