Safety

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.

CEPA Seeks Common Ground on Bill C-69

Canada’s energy transmission pipeline companies are clear on what amendments they would like to see, and we ask the Canadian government to take the time to get this right.

Missouri Leak Prompts Closure of Parts of 2 Oil Pipelines

An oil leak near St. Louis prompted the closure of parts of two pipelines as crews work to determine the source, company officials and Missouri regulators said.

San Francisco Gas Explosion Shoots Fire that Burns Buildings

A gas explosion in a San Francisco neighborhood shot flames into the air for hours Wednesday and burned five buildings, sending panicked residents and workers fleeing into the streets. It took utility crews more than two hours to put out the fire after private construction workers cut a natural gas line, igniting the towering flames.

4 Activists Arrested Attempting to Shut Down Oil Pipeline

Four climate-change activists from the Catholic Worker movement were arrested in an attempt to shut down an Enbridge's Line 4 oil pipeline in north-central Minnesota.

Subsea Bayesian Networks – Integrity and Risk Assessments

If high levels of safety and environmental protection in the subsea oil and gas sector are to be maintained, then understanding the risks involved is more important than ever. But it has never been more difficult necessary to optimize IMR activities than it is now.

Mexico's Fuel Thieves Undeterred by Deadly Blast

Days after a fireball erupted near the Mexican town of Tlahuelilpan, killing at least 117 people pilfering gasoline from a pipeline, the area's fuel bandits were back in business.

Addressing Legal Risk Through SAFETY Act

Legal Perspectives By Eric Hutchins, Principal, H2 Legal, P.C., and Ted Murphy, Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth  On the morning of Aug. 15, 2012, most Saudi Aramco employees were home celebrating Ramadan. Suddenly, the few remaining at work noticed problems with their computers. Screens flickered, a..

Death Toll Reaches 94 in Mexico Fuel Pipeline Fire Horror

People in the town where a gasoline explosion killed at least 94 people say the section of pipeline that gushed fuel has been a habitual gathering site for thieves, repeatedly damaged and patched like a trusty pair of jeans.

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.

PG&E Board Chair Sees Chapter 11 as ‘Only Viable Option’

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said this week it will file for bankruptcy, raising concern that rates for electricity and gas will rise and victims of California wildfires who are suing the nation’s largest utility won’t get all the money they may be owed.

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.

Retiring Stavropoulos Leaves PG&E a Safer Utility

Eight years after joining PG&E in the wake of the San Bruno explosion, Nick Stavropoulos retired as an industry role model for restoring a sense of pride at the giant San Francisco utility.

Human-Centric Approach to Improving Pipeline NDE Reliability

Non-destructive evaluation is essential to assure long-term integrity of existing pipelines, and human performance is a key element of the NDE process. This article summarizes an effort to identify human performance factors that influence NDE measurements and reliability.

The Future Arrives: Virtual Reality Safety Training

Companies such as Peoples Gas & North Shore Gas Company have begun to explore virtual reality platforms to supplement traditional gas meter safety and inspection training.

Feds Open Criminal Probe into Natural Gas Explosions

Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into the natural gas explosions and fires that rocked three communities north of Boston in September.

Evacuation Lifted after California Gas Pipeline Scare

Emergency crews extinguished a fire burning dangerously close to a Chevron underground natural gas pipeline Thursday and lifted an evacuation order that had forced some 4,000 residents from their homes the night before.

Firefighters Sue SoCal Gas over Aliso Canyon Leak

Firefighters who worked in and around the site of a massive natural gas leak have sued Southern California Gas Co., alleging the utility knowingly let them be exposed to dangerous levels of toxic chemicals.

Nigeria Pipeline Explodes, Killing 19; Oil Thieves Suspected Cause

A Nigerian official says at least 19 people are dead after a leaking oil pipeline exploded in the southeast, while villagers say the toll is higher.

Canada Pipeline Blast Risks Washington Natural Gas Shortage

A pipeline explosion in British Columbia risks cutting off the flow of Canadian natural gas to Washington State, and companies are urging customers to conserve.

Gas Line Rupture Prompts Evacuation in British Columbia

A natural gas transmission pipeline ruptured in a rural area north of Prince George in the Canadian province of British Columbia, prompting precautionary evacuations, pipeline owner and operator Enbridge said.

You Do Leak Detection, but Do You have Breach Detection?

Pipeline companies invest considerable effort preventing, detecting, and responding to leak incidents, but are they investing enough effort preventing, detecting, and responding to cybersecurity incidents? Since, in principle, a cyber-incident could lead to a leak incident, companies should consider breach detection as part of their overall leak prevention program.

A Look at Government’s Role in Pipeline Safety, Maintenance

As existing U.S. pipeline infrastructure ages and new projects face increased public scrutiny, it’s important that measures are in place to ensure safe operations. Here's an overview of the role government plays in making pipelines the safest way to annually transport 16.2 billion barrels of liquid products and over 25 Tcf of natural gas.

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.

Fluor Federal Petroleum Streamlines Emergency Response Technology

Fluor Federal Petroleum, the operations and maintenance contractor providing services to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) project, needed to find a way to streamline communications and save time when communicating with their employees, particularly in the event of a workplace emergency.