Safety

PECO, Higher Ed. Partner on Next-Generation Natural Gas Workforce

Providing safe and reliable natural gas service is the hallmark of every natural gas distribution company. This takes a committed approach to investing in state-of-the-art equipment and best-practice sharing among industry peers to improve operations and implement the latest safety trends. New equi..

SoCalGas Makes Pipeline Safety a Top Priority

SoCalGas increases its commitment to safely working on pipeline construction projects by joining the Gold Shovel Standard.

Deal-making, Increased Pipeline Safety on Tap for 2017

Construction management and consulting firm, TRC Companies, released its top 12 predictions for the energy, utility, and oil and gas sectors for 2017, which included robust funding for utility mergers, acquisitions and infrastructure upgrades, along with big shifts in power plant and pipeline constr..

PHMSA Requires Faster Notification Following Pipeline Accidents

New pipeline regulations from PHMSA require quicker notification following accidents.

Transportation Secretary Appoints 24 Members to Pipeline Safety Working Group

PHMSA appoints 24 to group tasked with improving pipeline inspection information sharing.

NiSource Opens Employee Training Center Featuring ‘Mock Town’

MONACA, PA – Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of NiSource, recently opened a modern, centralized training facility for employees who operate and maintain its natural gas distribution system. The $10 million, 22,000-square-foot facility is the first of four leading-edge training centers th..

Michigan Panel that Oversees Pipeline Network to Meet Today

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A state panel that oversees the safety of pipelines carrying oil and other substances around Michigan is meeting Monday. The Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Michigan Agency for Energy building in Lansing. The board is c..

Regulator: Dakota Access Pipeline Worker Killed in Accident

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A man working on the four-state Dakota Access oil pipeline was killed in an apparent accident in western North Dakota, a state regulator said Saturday. North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk said the man, whose name has not been released, died of his injuries Frid..

New Report Confirms Pipelines Are One of the Safest Ways to Transport Energy

API has released a new report, with the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL), confirming that pipelines continue to be one of the safest ways to efficiently transport energy across the United States. The report highlights liquid pipeline safety performance and industry-wide efforts to improve pipeli..

Feds Order More Upgrades to Spectra Pipelines After Blast

GREENSBURG, Pa (AP) – A federal agency has ordered a natural gas pipeline company to upgrade three lines buried in western Pennsylvania, including one that has corrosion similar to a fourth line that blew up in April, scorching some 40 acres. The Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration..

Upgrades to Unsafe Tank Cars Could Take 15 Years, Board Says

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Accident-prone tank cars used to haul crude oil and ethanol by rail could remain in service for another 15 years under federal rules that allow companies to phase in upgrades to the aging fleet, according to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Transportation offici..

Firm: California Spill Went Undetected Due to Pipeline Work

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — The operator of a pipeline that spewed tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into a Southern California ravine said Friday it didn’t detect the leak because the line was undergoing maintenance. Crimson Pipeline said the remotely monitored line was emptied on Wednesday to ..

Cleanup Underway After California Oil Pipeline Spill

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of gallons of crude oil spilled Thursday from a pipeline and flowed down a ravine in Southern California but did not reach the ocean, officials said. As much as 29,400 gallons of oil spilled and flowed a quarter- to half-mile from the spill, fire authorities said. ..

New Pipeline Safety Bill Heads for House Passage; Senate Bill Waiting

Two House committees passed nearly identical pipeline safety bills. Once combined into a single piece of legislation, the House will work with the Senate, which previously passed a bill, to come up with a single version for President Obama’s signature. All three bills pale beside the 2011 pipeline b..

Shell: Pipeline Fixed after California Oil Spill

Officials at Shell Oil Co. say crews have repaired an underground pipeline after it broke and spilled up to 21,000 gallons of oil in rural Northern California. Company spokesman Ray Fisher said Tuesday that workers are running small amounts of oil through the pipeline to test it and are working on ..

Despite Leak, Sempra CEO Gets Hefty Bonus

The same year a broken Sempra Energy storage well created the biggest natural gas leak in U.S. history, CEO Debra Reed earned her largest bonus yet. While Reed received no payout for the part of her 2015 bonus that’s tied to customer satisfaction and pipeline safety at two Sempra utilities, amounti..

House Democrats Seek to Toughen Senate Pipeline Safety Bill

Key Republicans and Democrats in the House were determined to pass a pipeline safety bill this year, although it may have some differences with the bill just passed by the Senate. That bill is called the Securing America’s Future Energy: Protecting Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety (S..

PHMSA Cites External Corrosion as Cause of Santa Barbara Spill

External corrosion on a pipeline pumping crude was the root cause of the rupture last May that spilled over 140,000 gallons of oil on the Santa Barbara coast, federal regulators reported. The spill occurred after pumps on the Plains All American Pipeline were shut down and restarted, sending a large..

SoCalGas Finally Able to Plug Leaking Injection Well

A Los Angeles-area injection well was permanently sealed on Feb. 18 and taken out of service, according to Southern California Gas. The leak was temporarily plugged earlier and SoCalGas finished pumping cement into the base of the well. Residents who were relocated to temporary housing because of th..

TransCanada Resumes Oil Shipments Through Keystone Pipeline

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — TransCanada Corp. has resumed sending oil through the Keystone Pipeline after a weeklong shutdown prompted by a leak and oil spill in southeastern South Dakota. The pipeline came back online Sunday, but with a reduced pressure. The company says it is continuing cleanup and ..

New Pipeline Safety Proposal Contains Multiple New Requirements

Pipeline industry executives are pouring over the 500-plus page safety proposal from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an effort that will take some time before informed comments can be made. The initial comment deadline is at the end of May. “The typical 60 days in..

Pipeline Industry Leaders to Produce Safety Leadership Training Program

Caterpillar, in collaboration with PipeLine Machinery International, Inc. (PLM) and a group of industry leading companies, is now offering the Pipeline Safety Leadership Program, a first-of-its-kind training course produced specifically for pipeliners. With a focus on personal accountability for saf..

Apache Faces More Charges in Canada over Safety

The Alberta Energy Regulator said Apache could be slapped with a penalty of up to $2.5 million for a spill in northwestern Alberta two years ago. In that incident, contaminated water spilled about 40 km from Whitecourt, affecting a nearby creek. Apache has been charged on five counts under the Pipel..

Liquid Pipeline Safety Proposal Criticized from All Sides

Reaction to the PHMSA’s proposed rule (NPRM) to tighten liquid pipeline safety regulations has run along predictable lines. The pipelines think the proposal is too expansive and expensive. The environmental community and some notable safety experts believe the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety..