Storage

Newsreel: Northeast Utilities Becomes Eversource Energy

Northeast Utilities, which operates New England’s largest energy delivery company, has become Eversource Energy. All of the company’s subsidiaries, including Connecticut Light and Power Co., NSTAR Electric, NSTAR Gas, Public Service Co. of New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts Electric Co. and Yankee Gas Services Co. have begun operating under the Eversource brand. The company serves more than 3.6 million electric and natural gas customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and employing a workforce of more than 8,000 New Englanders.

Editors Notebook: The Silver Lining Pipelines Work

You already know that Houston is the energy capital of the nation, most likely the world. But did you know that Houston is also the violent bank robbery capital of the nation with no close second?

Russias Pipeline Dreams Under Threat

Russia is the second-largest producer of dry natural gas and the third-largest liquid fuels producer in the world, and these products are inextricably intertwined with its government. State-controlled company Rosneft dominates oil production while Transneft owns and operates Russia’s oil pipelines. Gazprom is the country’s dominant gas producer and pipeline operator, and the Ministry of Finance admitted in February that oil and gas royalties, taxes and dividends account for at least 50% of the Russian government’s revenue.

Study: Mariner East To Add $4.2 Billion To Pennsylvania Economy

Sunoco Logistics’ Mariner East projects are expected to add up to $4.2 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy and create 300-400 permanent jobs, according to a study by Philadelphia-based Econsult Solutions, Inc. released Feb. 5. Commissioned by Sunoco Logistics, the economic forecast projected construction of the projects will generate $23 million in personal income tax in the state, as well bringing in $62 million in tax revenues from vendors, employees and related activities.

Pipeline Stress Corrosion Cracking: Detection and Control

Corrosion of underground natural gas and liquid petroleum pipelines occurs in a variety of forms and requires specialized mitigation methods to detect and control. First identified in the 1960s, stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a form of corrosion that results in clusters or colonies of cracks on the external surface of the affected pipeline.

Meritage Midstream Announces NGL Pipeline Extension

Meritage Midstream has begun operations on the first leg of the 108-mile Thunder Creek NGL Pipeline. The pipeline will be owned and operated by Thunder Creek NGL Pipeline, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meritage.

Enterprise Products Seeks Shipper Support For NGL Pipeline Expansion

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. recently sought shipper support for a proposed expansion of the portion of its Panola Pipeline Company, LLC natural gas liquids system between Carthage and Mont Belvieu, TX.

British Columbia Prohibits Oil Or Bitumen Transport Through LNG Pipelines

British Columbia has adopted a regulation to ensure pipelines built to support LNG facilities will not be permitted to transport oil or diluted bitumen. This follows concerns expressed in environmental assessments and by First Nations about the long-term pipeline use.

Energy Forecast Predicts Rising Gas, Oil Demand As Global Middle Class Grows

ExxonMobil’s 2015 energy forecast posits natural gas as the fuel with the most demand growth between now and 2040, overtaking coal as the second most popular energy source with a 65% gain vs. its 2010 levels. By the end of the period, the report predicted more than 125 Bcf/d will be shipped by LNG or inter-regional pipeline.

Keystone Pipeline Ends First Year Of Canada To Texas Delivery; Expansion on Hold

TransCanada’s Keystone Pipeline has just completed a year’s service of bringing Canadian tar sand syn crude from Alberta to U.S. Gulf Coast facilities for refining and marketing. This was the third phase of the project. Bringing crude from Cushing, OK to Texas began in January 2013 and still has a lateral line to be completed that will bring crude oil from Nederland, TX to Houston-area refineries. A terminal will be completed in mid-2015 for the Houston refining.

Middle East Key Market For Service Sector

The Middle East will be a key market for oilfield services companies for decades to come as countries across the region seek to maximize recovery from maturing assets and bring new fields into production, reports energy specialist corporate advisory firm Simmons & Company International Ltd.

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.

OPEC Output Unlikely To Change Even If Oil Drops To $40

OPEC will stand by its decision not to cut output even if oil prices fall as low as $40 a barrel and will wait at least three months before considering an emergency meeting, said the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister on Dec. 15, according to Bloomberg.

Editor's Notebook: The Lessons Of History

You have to appreciate history, for it tells no lies and whether we like it or not, it tends to repeat itself. Last month I recalled how the Saudis ramped up production 30 years ago with the backing of the Reagan administration in order to wreck the Soviet economy though it also did long-term damage to the U.S. oil industry. With crude prices in the $55 range (as of Dec. 18), motorists are delighted but nerves are on edge in Texas and other regions where the economies depend on oil and gas production.

Energy Transfer, Regency To Build NGL Pipeline

Lone Star NGL, a joint venture of Energy Transfer Partners, and Regency Energy Partners, has received board approval to construct a 533-mile, 24- and 30-inch NGL pipeline from the Permian Basin to Mont Belvieu, TX and convert Lone Star’s West Texas 12-inch NGL pipeline for crude oil and condensate service.

Monarch Holds Open Season For Texas-Oklahoma Crude Line

Monarch Oil Pipeline, a subsidiary of Monarch Natural Gas Holdings, is holding an open season through Jan. 30 to solicit capacity commitments from shippers for a new oil pipeline system to gather and transport crude oil from production areas in Hemphill and Lipscomb counties in Texas to Plains Pipeline’s Reydon Station in Roger Mills County, OK.

Rimrock To Build, Operate Grand Mesa Pipeline

Rimrock Midstream entered into agreements with Grand Mesa Pipeline, a subsidiary of NGL Energy Partners, to construct and operate the Grand Mesa Pipeline.

Saudis May Hold The High Card

Global oil demand will grow 1 MMbpd in 2014, or about 300,000 bpd more than the IEA’s latest forecast, according to ESAI Energy’s recently published Global Fuels Outlook. The report highlights discrepancies between ESAI Energy’s and the IEA’s forecasts for demand growth and provides an outlook on petroleum product markets – and spreads to crude – through 2016.

Greyrock Advances Small-Scale GTL Production Plant

Greyrock Energy, a company whose strategy is to transform natural gas into premium transportation fuels, announced on Nov. 4 a final investment decision (FID) to deliver one of the world’s first small-scale Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) facilities.

Take-Off For Gas Pipelines In Mexico, Brazil

Latin America is home to vast quantities of natural gas and oil. Pipeline construction in this region is driven by the need to transport, process and distribute newly discovered oil and gas to market, or to build dedicated pipelines in anticipation of a large increase in gas-fired power generation.

Iran Aims At Unlocking Massive Oil, Gas Reserves In Wake Of Nuclear Deal

The six world powers - China, France, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany - are continuing efforts to persuade a reluctant Iran to scale back its nuclear program with hopes the long-time standoff can be settled.

U.S. Oil And Gas Production Continues To Rise

<em>Pipeline & Gas Journal</em>’s 34th Annual 500 Report provides the industry’s most inclusive statistical review of U.S. energy pipeline systems. Once again, the report ranks the nation’s top gas distribution, liquids and gas transmission systems. The gas distribution rankings are based on number of customers, while transmission companies are ranked by mileage. Each liquids pipeline company ranking is based on yearly crude deliveries.

Editor's Notebook: Low Prices, High Spirits

Fact No. 1: China has cornered the market on solar power panels. Fact No. 2: Indonesia has cornered the market on wind turbine parts. Fact No. 3: Natural gas, and to a growing extent crude oil, are American-made products. Fact No. 4: Natural gas and crude oil are fueling an industrial renaissance in the United States. I can keep on going but unless you’ve been living in a cave somewhere you know by now that the U.S. is undergoing a major transformation of its industrial and manufacturing base thanks to abundant, cheap and most importantly, reliable supplies of natural gas and crude oil. There remain several important issues still to be resolved such as LNG and crude oil exports, fracking disclosures, emissions controls and improved safety standards for transporters.

Stagnant 2013 Economy Shows Gas Consumption Up In North America And China But Nowhere Else

Natural gas consumption growth was down in 2013 everywhere but in North America, reflecting the major differential between North American natural gas prices and those in the rest of the world. Although the global economy remained lackluster, there was overall growth in energy consumption worldwide, with higher than average consumption growth in OECD countries and lagging averages in the developing world.

INGAA Foundation, ICF Release Data Underpinning Pipeline Study

The INGAA Foundation Inc. and ICF International are making available analytical data supporting the Foundation’s North American Midstream Infrastructure Through 2035: Capitalizing On Our Energy Abundance report, (see <em>P&GJ</em> <a href="http://www.pipelineandgasjournal.com/study-estimates-us-and-canadian-midstream-investments-30-billion-year">May 2014, Pg. 30</a> for an excerpt from the report).

European Pipeline Outlook 2020 Seeks Diversification

Seen on a map, Europe’s gas pipeline network appears both complex and comprehensive. It would appear to reflect all conceivable supply needs. Yet, in reality, it is an aggregation of a protracted series of regional networks, devised at different times to serve localised needs.

Study Estimates Economic Benefits To State From Texas Oil And Gas Pipeline Industry

The economic benefits of the Texas oil and gas pipeline industry are resulting in substantial highly compensated employment, investment and economic growth for the state of Texas, according to a joint development study conducted by Texas Tech University and commissioned by the Texas Pipeline Association (TPA).

EIA: World Liquid Fuels Use Projected To Rise 38% by 2040

World petroleum and other liquid fuels consumption will increase 38% by 2040, spurred by increased demand in the developing Asia and Middle East, according to projections in International Energy Outlook 2014 (IEO2014), released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Gas Storage: Leading Or Lagging In Growing Marketplace?

The seemingly overnight transformation of the U.S. and North American oil and natural gas gusher into a global supply source has upended many of the long-held assumptions about the American energy industry. This is particularly true for natural gas storage, alternately viewed as an unnecessary anachronism or an indispensable tool for the United States to emerge as a new net energy exporter.

Oil Boom In North Dakota: Putting On A Happy Face

As part of a record-setting industry meeting in May at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in North Dakota, Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple offered a keynote speech with one superlative after another about his sparsely populated, but energy- and agriculture-rich state. It seems his state is leading the nation in a number of categories these days, including having the happiest residents.