Integrity
Achieving Vital Security With Cloud Services
Are your company’s business systems connected in any way to the industrial control systems (ICS), including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), which are used to manage the company’s critical infrastructure? If they are, and the best guess is they are, then the ICS/SCADA could be vulnerable to cyberattacks in addition to the business side of the networks.
Editor's Notebook: Local Updates
I hope the industry is paying attention to some regionalized developments that could hamper activity, at least in the short term.
Energy Providers, Including Pipelines, Vulnerable To Malware
Financial services firms may have a slight edge in security readiness over their energy sector counterparts, but not by much. These two industries – highly targeted by cybercriminals – must move quickly to address their cybersecurity deficiencies and shore up their defenses against advanced malware threats.
Improving Cybersecurity Defenses In Oil And Gas Applications
In recent years, there have been a number of high-profile, advanced malware threats that targeted or attacked the energy sector such as Dragonfly, Stuxnet, Flame and Shamoon. And while these threats need to be taken into account when analyzing and preparing for potential security risks, they actually only account for a low number of overall threat sources.
In Turnaround, FERC Proposes to Allow Surcharges to Fund Modernization
In a departure from past policy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is considering allowing interstate pipelines to recoup the costs of complying with federal environmental and safety regulations.
50 homes evacuated after Missouri pipeline break
BOWLING GREEN, Mo. (AP) — More than four dozen homes near the town of Bowling Green in northeast Missouri have been evacuated due to the rupture of a natural gas pipeline.
Concerns about water quality after MT pipeline rupture
GLENDIVE, Mont. (AP) — Workers recovered about 10,000 gallons of oil from a ruptured pipeline that spilled crude into Yellowstone River and contaminated the drinking water supply of an eastern Montana city downstream.
Cold Weather Can Play Havoc On Natural Gas Systems
Cold weather can produce threats to the integrity of distribution pipeline systems. Integrity management (IM) concepts required an operator to identify threats as a necessary step to prioritizing integrity assessments and developing mitigations.
Pipeline Engineering Quality Management System
I’ve only been working in the pipeline engineering business for a short time, but have noticed a disparity between how the quality systems of the two main portions of the business are structured. This, even though corporate quality and construction quality systems both follow the International Standards Organization (ISO) 9001:2008 format of quality standards.
Leak Detection Systems Critical To Pipeline Safety
Selecting a suitable leak detection system is not an easy task for pipeline operators. The system must meet the needs of the particular application and comply with relevant regulations. The most advanced technology available uses the extended real-time transient model (E-RTTM) model, which guarantees reliable leak monitoring for various types and lengths of pipelines, even under transient operating conditions.
Gas Infrastructure Aging Gracefully Despite Flawed News Story
While statistically pipelines remain the safest method to transport natural gas and liquids, growing demands on the aging infrastructure has increasingly pointed to the need for upgrades – sometimes tragically so.
Distribution Delivers Innovation To Pipeline Replacement Prioritization
Ian Davidson, member of Parliament: “Let me be clear. If the [natural gas distribution] companies find themselves in a position where the number of health and safety breaches is increasing, a plausible defense for them is to say that they cannot afford to do it because you are squeezing them too tightly.”
UGI Gets Aggressive With Pipeline Replacement Program
In some ways UGI Utilities is fortunate to be so far ahead of the game when it comes to infrastructure replacement. The natural gas distributor, which serves 600,000 customers in 45 eastern and central Pennsylvania counties and one county in Maryland, has about 86% of its 12,000 miles of pipeline already constructed of contemporary materials.
Study Finds Fracking Not At Fault For Water Contamination
A study has pinpointed the likely source of most natural gas contamination in drinking-water wells associated with hydraulic fracturing, and it’s not the source many people may have feared. What’s more, the problem may be fixable: improved construction standards for cement well linings and casings at hydraulic fracturing sites.
PG&E, others appeal $1.4 billion penalty
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and others on Thursday appealed a proposed $1.4 billion penalty against PG&E in a deadly 2010 gas-pipeline explosion, in a case that has raised repeated accusations of cozy relations between the utility and state regulators.
Add Longer-Term Value To Inline Inspection Through Mapping
Natural force damage from earth movement and heavy rains or floods accounts for only 8% of all pipeline failure incidents. However, these type of incidents account for 34% of all property damage.
Corrosion Management Of Duplex Stainless Steel Gas Flowlines
The most commonly used materials for gas flowlines are carbon steel (CS) and duplex stainless steel (DSS). Selection of flowline materials should take into account the service for which the flowline is intended, the operating envelope and the life cycle costs (LCC). For highly corrosive environments corrosion-resistant alloys (CRAs), in particular DSS, remains the most cost-effective option since the risk of corrosion failure on CS lines is high and use of corrosion inhibition with CS is often either impractical, costly or poses too high a risk.
Traceability: A Technology, Requirement And Future For Pipelines
<em>“The overriding lesson: great software can fail if it is not paired with industry expertise.” – Brett Vogt, Project Consulting Services, Inc. </em> Whether they are people, places or things, there is nothing that can escape electronic scrutiny in the 21st century, pipelines included. With the right planning, personnel and software systems, both industry and government representatives agree that the tools are in place to maintain control and complete records for the North American, if the not the world’s, oil and natural gas pipelines.
EDF/Google Earth Outreach Map Gas Leaks Under City Streets
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) recently unveiled interactive online maps showing natural gas leaks beneath the streets of Boston, Indianapolis and New York City’s Staten Island. Leaks like these rarely pose an immediate safety threat, but the leaking natural gas – which is mostly methane – has a powerful effect on the global climate, carrying 120 times the warming effect of carbon dioxide.
FERC Commissioner Concerned About Pipeline Adequacy In Face Of Utility Carbon Restrictions
There is at least one raised eyebrow at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) over the EPA's proposed Clean Power Plan, the subject of a proposed rule issued on June 2. The plan would force electric utilities to reduce carbon emissions to advance President Obama's Climate Action Plan, which seeks to lower air emissions of the six greenhouse gases, of which carbon dioxide is the major member. The plan foresees individual states devising separate, and perhaps different, plans for reducing carbon emissions from electric utilities.
Workplace Air Quality In Welding, Fabrication Environment
Welding and fabrication generate lots of heat, dust and fumes that carry hazardous substances. If air quality is not controlled, these often carcinogenic and toxic substances can lead to serious illness. Obviously, suitable systems to air quality at acceptable levels are needed.
Chinese Pipeline Damaged, 20,000 Evacuated
A leaking oil pipeline caught fire in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian on July 1, forcing the evacuation of nearly 20,000 residents. According to press reports, the pipeline was damaged by construction work, allowing oil to flow into a sewage pipe, and catch fire. No deaths or injuries were reported. However, China National Petroleum Corp. reported 20,000 nearby residents had to be evacuated.
Editor's Notebook: North Dakota Making News
I’ve never been to North Dakota; in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from that state. Now, one of the great oil discoveries of recent years, the immense Bakken Shale, has put the upper Plains state on the map for all to see.
Wireless I/O Communication Solutions For Hazardous Environments
In 2010, an incident in San Bruno, CA brought national attention to the oil and gas industry when a natural gas pipeline exploded in a residential neighborhood, leveling homes and claiming several lives. The resulting shockwave from the explosion was equivalent to a 1.1 magnitude earthquake.
Safety Deeply Embedded In Pipeline, Hazardous Transport Oversight
In 2010, two tragic events – a million-gallon crude oil spill near Marshall, MI and a natural gas explosion in a San Bruno, CA neighborhood – occurred within two weeks of each other, focusing the nation’s attention on pipeline safety.
Underused Strategies To Keep Pipelines Running Strong
Compressor stations are the unsung heroes of the pipeline and gas industry. Given the media hype lately, the public’s focus has been driven primarily to the extraction and refining components of the energy equation with little notice paid to the engines – literally – that transfer products from one end of the country to the other.
Improving Field Verification In Pipeline Integrity Management Programs
An inline inspection (ILI) project is not complete until the reported features are verified in the field. The process is important because inappropriate inspection techniques can invalidate an otherwise valid report.
Helping Operators Comply With New IVP Regulations
Last summer the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) previewed proposed additions to its integrity management program (IMP) which require operators to test pipe segments located in high-consequence areas (HCAs) and to “devote additional focus, efforts, and analysis … to ensure the integrity of [those] pipelines.”
Comparing Speed-Control Pig Cleaning With Hard-Bodied Cleaning Pig
The Southeast Supply Header (SESH) is a 42-inch and 36-inch natural gas pipeline originating at Carthage, TX and running 446 miles to a terminus at Coden, AL. SESH links the onshore natural gas supply basins of East Texas and northern Louisiana to markets predominantly served by offshore natural gas supplies from the Gulf of Mexico.
Breaking Down Quad-O Regulations, Compliance Needs
Just as onshore production methods change and evolve over time, so too do environmental regulations. On Aug. 16, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published final regulatory updates specific to onshore oil and natural gas production that span from well completion to transmission. Deciphering and gaining a better understanding of these regulations will remove costly compliance pitfalls during normal operations.
- Kinder Morgan Proposes 290-Mile Gas Pipeline Expansion Spanning Three States
- Valero Plans to Shut California Refinery, Takes $1.1 Billion Hit
- Three Killed, Two Injured in Accident at LNG Construction Site in Texas
- Tallgrass to Build New Permian-to-Rockies Pipeline, Targets 2028 Startup with 2.4 Bcf Capacity
- TC Energy Approves $900 Million Northwoods Pipeline Expansion for U.S. Midwest
- U.S. Pipeline Expansion to Add 99 Bcf/d, Mostly for LNG Export, Report Finds
- Enbridge Adds Turboexpanders at Pipeline Sites to Power Data Centers in Canada, Pennsylvania
- Great Basin Gas Expansion Draws Strong Shipper Demand in Northern Nevada
- Cheniere Seeks FERC Approval to Expand Sabine Pass LNG Facility
- Heath Consultants Exits Locate Business to Expand Methane Leak Detection Portfolio
