Monitoring
US Pipeline Regulator Sets New Rules for Reducing Methane Leaks
The Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a proposed notice of rulemaking, laying out measures to clamp down on methane leaks from the country's vast network gas infrastructure.
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.
Worksite Safety: Defining Fundamental Drivers of Learning On-Site Procedures
(P&GJ) — Quick! How many rescue breaths should you administer after providing chest compressions to an unresponsive, non-breathing accident victim during CPR?
TC Energy Declares Force Majeure on 3,300-Mile Columbia Gulf Pipeline After Fire in Mississippi
Canadian energy company TC Energy Corp. said on Friday that its Columbia Gulf Transmission unit declared a force majeure event at its Corinth natural gas compressor station in Mississippi due to a fire, which had been extinguished.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Williams, MPLX, WES DJ Gathering Reach Settlement with EPA, DOJ Over Methane Leaks
The settlements announced by the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency require the three natural gas processors to pay a combined $9.25 million in civil penalties and make about $16 million in improvements at plants and compressor stations.
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.
Tech Notes: Getting Pipeline Integrity Data Assessment Under Control
(P&GJ) — Effective integrity management and compliance with newly released regulatory requirements rely on accurate and reliable data. Many operators have data management systems containing voluminous datasets representing their pipeline systems.
Pipeline Leak Detection Audits Provide Invaluable Insights
(P&GJ) — Ensuring the continuing effectiveness of leak detection systems (LDS) is paramount for pipeline operators to meet tightening safety and environmental regulations and minimize the potential risks of catastrophic events.
Learning to Manage Risk of Over-Pressurizing Gas Pipelines
(P&GJ) — According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2020, the world consumed 3.7 Tcf of natural gas. In other words, nearly 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas was transported daily from production sites to homes, businesses, and power plants worldwide through pipelines spread across millions of miles. Most of these pipelines operate underground, 24/7, quietly delivering a vital service to people across continents.
ABB India Automates 81-Mile India-Bangladesh Cross-Border Oil Pipeline
(P&GJ) — ABB India has delivered integrated automation and control solutions to enable the safe operation of the 130-km (81-mile) Indo-Bangla Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL), which will carry diesel from India to Bangladesh.
What's New March 2023
Red Lion, Esco Tool, Ralston, Trimble and more.
US Pipeline Regulator Grants Over $25 Million in Funding to Improve Safety
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on Monday announced more than $25 million in funding to improve safety nationwide after recent train derailments. The funding will provide support to state inspectors for hazardous materials shipments and pipelines inspections.
US Intelligence Suggests Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaged Nord Stream Pipelines -NYT
New intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Pemex Deer Park, Texas Fire Broke Out in Crude Distillation Area
A Thursday night fire at Pemex’s 312,500 barrel-per-day Deer Park, Texas, refinery broke out in a crude distillation unit, said people familiar with plant operations. The sources did not know which of two Deer Park CDUs were hit by fire.
New Approach to Digital Pipeline Integrity Management
(P&GJ) — Pigging is an operation that is regularly required by pipeline operators for both cleaning and data collection (intelligent pigging). Managing pigging schedules and risks is a significant challenge to operators/pigging vendors without an intimate knowledge of the pipeline.
Nanoparticles Transform Pipeline Cleaning, Integrity Management
(P&GJ) — Oil, gas, and multi-phase pipelines can be fouled with several types of deposits or internally restrictive debris. The actual type of fouling is dependent upon several factors including: the production fluid characteristics such as hydrocarbon product, water, and gas composition; the presence and composition of common oilfield contaminants, such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, mercury, arsenic, zinc, lead, iron, and manganese and operating conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, pH, flow regimes, etc.).
Focus on Integrity: Three Strategies for More Secure Pipeline Operations
(P&GJ) — The safe movement of liquids and gases across the pipeline infrastructure of the United States is critical. Whether pipelines are delivering fuels for transportation or home energy, feedstocks used to manufacture a wide variety of plastics and specialty chemicals, or any of the myriad other products that keep nations running, pipeline companies must ensure that operation continues without incident 24/7.
Nord Stream Blast Inquiries Ongoing, Say Denmark, Sweden, Germany at UN
Investigations by Denmark, Germany and Sweden into explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines have not yet concluded, the three countries told the U.N. Security Council in a letter on Tuesday ahead of a meeting called by Russia on the September incident.
Recognizing Value of Data as Pipeline Integrity Assets
(P&GJ) — Increased investment in infrastructure as a result of higher oil and gas prices, as well as growing activity in planning for future energy provision, means that many operators and utilities around the world are seeking ways to help them improve operational efficiency and access to safe and sustainable energy for the communities that they serve.
Value of Routing Studies for New Natural Gas Pipelines
(P&GJ) — When natural gas pipeline owners announce their preferred route for a new pipeline, permitting bodies and other stakeholders inevitably ask, “Why here?” By conducting a methodical routing study that produces data-driven and experience-tested route alternatives, owners obtain supporting data and documentation they can use to formulate a response and help obtain buy-in.
US Pipeline Regulator Probing 60-Barrel Leak on Colonial's Line 3
Top U.S. pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline on Wednesday shut its Line 3 for unscheduled maintenance in response to a "product release" at its Witt delivery station near Danville, Virginia. PHMSA is monitoring the estimated 60-barrel leak on the company's Line 3 pipeline in Virginia, a source told Reuters on Thursday.
Identifying Pipeline Exposure via River Scour Monitoring Technology
(P&GJ) — Erosion and scouring, among other sources, can lead to pipeline exposure when pipelines cross bodies of water. Even if these pipelines were adequately covered at one time, they are at risk for partial or full exposure due to water actions.
Predictive Corrosion Modeling – Rise of the Machines
(P&GJ) — Pipelines play an important role in the international transportation of natural gas, petroleum products and other energy resources. To ensure pipeline operational safely, instrumented inspections and assessments are completed on a recurring frequency.
- 1,000-Mile Pipeline Exit Plan by Hope Gas Alarms West Virginia Producers
- Valero Plans to Shut California Refinery, Takes $1.1 Billion Hit
- Three Killed, Two Injured in Accident at LNG Construction Site in Texas
- Kinder Morgan Proposes 290-Mile Gas Pipeline Expansion Spanning Three States
- Boardwalk’s Texas Gas Launches Open Season for 2 Bcf/d Marcellus-to-Louisiana Pipeline Expansion
- New Alternatives for Noise Reduction in Gas Pipelines
- Construction Begins on Ghana's $12 Billion Petroleum Hub, But Not Without Doubts
- DOE Considers Cutting Over $1.2 Billion in Carbon Capture Project Funding
- Valero Plans to Shut California Refinery, Takes $1.1 Billion Hit
- Newsom Seeks to Aid Struggling Refiners Following Valero’s California Exit
