Monitoring
Measuring Crack Defects with Sub-Millimeter Accuracy
Ultrasonic crack technology, using piezoelectric transducers, is a proven and widely used solution for crack and crack-like defect detection in liquids pipelines. Over the past 20 years, only minor developments and improvements in this area were offered to pipeline operators.
Abriox
Software and hardware systems can be costly to install on a broad scale, but Osprey, designed and built by Abriox, is helping utilities supplement surveillance at multiple locations by monitoring, gathering and processing real-time data, economically. Osprey allows users to see daily compilations of..
Technical Toolboxes
Technical Toolboxes released Version 19.0 of its The Pipeline Toolbox. The device features a range of improved calculations and applications, along with an embedded new license manager that strengthens security and enables better visibility. With its more than 230 pipeline-specific oil and gas appli..
Mass. Budgets Statewide Review of Natural Gas Systems
Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a spending bill that funds a statewide examination of Massachusetts’ natural gas distribution system. The review was ordered after the Sept. 13 gas explosions that killed one person, injured 25 others and damaged or destroyed dozens of buildings in the Merrimack Valley.
Emerson
Emerson Emerson’s TopWorx TV-LED Switchbox provides a local, ultra-bright LED position indicator plus an electrical signal/digital input that communicates valve position remotely to the control room or plant management system. With its 360° viewing angle, the device enabl..
Unwanted Night Moves
Whenever the subject of internal corrosion in pipelines comes up, it rekindles some unpleasant memories from my extensive time as a pipeline company spokesperson. Being part of an emergency response team for over 12 years was rewarding in many ways, but there was always an uneasy feeling when the phone would ring in the middle of the night.
Damage Tolerance Testing of Small-Diameter Pipelines
Internal and external corrosion, as well as third-party damage such as dents and gouges, are the main causes of pipeline failures worldwide. When such damage is detected by direct inspection, or in-line inspection methods, a decision to replace, repair, or accept and monitor must be made.
Over-Pressure Protection for Natural Gas Distribution Systems
Over-pressure protection equipment, or systems, are critically employed to ensure a single point of failure cannot result in exceeding the system MAOP.
SCADA Operations Controlled Remotely
Houston-based Remote Operations Center (ROC) connects operators to their data and provides an offsite monitoring workforce that can improve efficiency while reducing risk. It is the only third-party provider solely focused on executing control center services for liquid and gas pipeline operators.
Combined Flaws Represent Key Danger to Pipelines
Sergey Zubin, chief engineer of Transneft Diascan, discusses the importance of detecting “combined flaws,” or those that occur in close proximity on the pipeline, with Pipeline & Gas Journal.
Advanced Analytics Can Help Boost Pipeline Performance
Leveraging existing operational data as well as new data sources available as part of a digital transformation can provide great opportunities to significantly improve performance through better asset reliability, efficiency and safety performance.
Section of Keystone Pipeline Shut Down after Leak
TransCanada Corp said a stretch of its Keystone crude oil pipeline from Nebraska to Illinois remained shut down on Monday after a leak was discovered last week near St. Louis, Missouri.
Remote, Real-Time Monitoring Prevents Potential Problems
With utilities adding more and more residential and commercial endpoints to their distribution systems, the need to prevent and detect leaks has never been more challenging – or more critical. Thankfully, advanced technologies have emerged that allow utilities to harness new capabilities such as data analytics and remote monitoring to stay on top of leaks and address them before they create significant safety issues.
Thieves Siphon Whole Pipelines; Mexico to Ship Gas on Trains
Fuel thieves in Mexico have grown so bold they are drilling illegal taps under warehouses in big cities and siphoning off the entire contents of pipelines, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. He cited one pipeline carrying gasoline that thieves had drilled into so many times they had siphoned all the fuel in the duct.
Lawmakers Urge US Agency to Bolster Pipeline Cybersecurity
Two Democratic lawmakers urged the Department of Homeland Security to better protect U.S. oil and gas pipelines from cyber-attacks, after a report they requested detailed a lack of federal oversight of the critical conduits.
Government
Change of Class Location Draws Opposition Citizen organizations and state regulators are opposing interstate pipeline efforts to convince federal regulators to provide an alternative to the class location system, which requires pipelines to take steps when there is population growth around a pipeli..
Assuring Integrity of Polyethylene Gas Pipeline Systems
To maximize benefits, gas transporters continue to push polyethylene pipe design with more demanding applications, larger diameters and higher operating pressures. The risk of rapid crack progression and variables affecting performance must be considered when increasing the diameter and wall thickness of PE pipe.
Columbia Gas’ Merrimack Valley Accident: Fallout Just Starting
Federal and state agencies immediately jumped into action to uncover causes and preventative lessons that might be learned from the fatal September explosions, but other investigations could have implications for pipeline operations far beyond Massachusetts.
Senstar
Senstar introduced the FiberPatrol FP7000 fiber-optic pipeline integrity monitoring system for both gas and liquid-carrying pipelines. It can also be used for fence-mounted intrusion detection.
Improving Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Transmission, Storage
Interstate natural gas transmission companies are committed to minimizing methane emissions. This article explains methane emission sources for the transmission and storage sector and the basis for emissions commitments that INGAA members have voluntarily adopted.
GE's Avitas Gains First BLVOS Approval after Shell Oil Study
Avitas Systems, a GE venture, received the first civil approval to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle with radar beyond visual line of site (BVLOS) after a successful study with Shell Oil, marking an important step toward long-range pipeline monitoring with drones.
Thermon
Thermon introduced its TraceNet™Genesis Control & Monitoring System, a new solution for managing heat-trace circuit performance on process lines, tanks and instrumentation. The system allows instant access to comprehensive information, including circuit performance history, fault analysis, and circuit drawings.
Leak Detection Challenges on Crude Gathering, Produced Water Networks
A review of the four main leak detection methods and their abilities to overcome the unique challenges of crude oil gathering networks and produced water pipelines.
Drones: Flights of Fancy or Future of the Energy Industry?
As wildfires again ravaged much of California and other western states, energy industry responders could hardly imagine how their counterparts dealt with similar disasters just a few years ago without drones.
Strategy Shaped by Volatility
Among major supply factors, deferred maintenance continues to challenge global production. Maintenance is especially critical in basins with aging asset infrastructure, as recently evidenced by the crack in the North Sea Forties pipeline.
Insuring Against Liabilities Can Be Tricky
Despite the great overall success of the American energy industry, problems do exist and happen on a near-daily level. While rail accidents occur with more regularity, pipeline spills can actually have more devastating effects.
Leak Detection Going to the Dogs
Dogs can perform a multitude of services including protection, therapy, rescue, and tracking to name a few. They can be trained to detect virtually anything, including pipeline leaks.
Pipe Pressure Before Explosions was 12 Times too High
The pressure in natural gas pipelines prior to a series of explosions and fires in Massachusetts last week was 12 times higher than it should have been, according to a letter from the state's U.S. senators to executives of the utility in charge of the pipelines.
Official: Pressure Sensors Focus of Gas Explosions Investigation
The investigation into the Boston-area natural gas explosions is partially focused on pressure sensors that were connected to a gas line that was being taken out of service shortly before the blasts, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said.
California Jury Finds Plains All American Guilty in Oil Spill Trial
A California state jury found Plains All American Pipeline guilty of criminally fouling state waters or harming wildlife in a 2015 oil spill along the Pacific Coast.
- Trump Aims to Revive 1,200-Mile Keystone XL Pipeline Despite Major Challenges
- Valero Considers All Options, Including Sale, for California Refineries Amid Regulatory Pressure
- ConocoPhillips Eyes Sale of $1 Billion Permian Assets Amid Marathon Acquisition
- ONEOK Agrees to Sell Interstate Gas Pipelines to DT Midstream for $1.2 Billion
- Energy Transfer Reaches FID on $2.7 Billion, 2.2 Bcf/d Permian Pipeline
- U.S. LNG Export Growth Faces Uncertainty as Trump’s Tariff Proposal Looms, Analysts Say
- Tullow Oil on Track to Deliver $600 Million Free Cash Flow Over Next 2 Years
- Energy Transfer Reaches FID on $2.7 Billion, 2.2 Bcf/d Permian Pipeline
- GOP Lawmakers Slam New York for Blocking $500 Million Pipeline Project
- Texas Oil Company Challenges $250 Million Insurance Collateral Demand for Pipeline, Offshore Operations
