Operations

Rail Transportation Of Oil: A Growing Congressional Safety Concern

Both House and Senate committee leaders with jurisdiction have begun to show impatience with what they view as out-of-date federal regulations on railroads carrying oil produced in the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Marcellus shale regions.

BP: Global Energy Demand Growth Slowing, Despite Increases Driven By Emerging Economies

Global energy demand continues to grow but that growth is slowing and mainly driven by emerging economies - led by China and India - according to the BP Energy Outlook 2035.

Pipeline Industry Growth Fueled By Increasing Global Energy Demand, Shale Gas Exploration

Increasing oil and natural gas consumption in Asia-Pacific has made a significant contribution to the need for increased pipeline construction investment worldwide. The region is expected to surpass Europe to become a major growth gas market by 2015. Developing economies in the Asia-Pacific region, such as India and China, have been importing substantial quantities of crude oil and natural gas for domestic consumption and industrial use.

Crosstex To Build Pipeline In Permian Basin

The Crosstex Energy companies, Crosstex Energy, L.P. and Crosstex Energy, Inc., is continuing to expand its gas gathering and processing capabilities in the Permian Basin through a new long-term, fee-based agreement with a major oil and gas producer in the region.

North Dakota Gas Flaring is Creating Firestorm of Controversy

Recently filed class-action lawsuits by North Dakota landowners have brought renewed attention to the controversial practice of gas flaring in that state. In their suits, the landowners claim that major producers in the region, including Continental Resources, XTO and Marathon are costing those owners their share of royalties on as much as $100 million per month of value in natural gas that has gone up in flames in order to keep oil production flowing.

Industry Associations Asks Help With Oil Spill Surveillance

The global oil and gas industry needs better ways to plan for oil spill surveillance, and it’s looking to the airborne remote sensing and commercial satellite industries for help.

Kinder Morgan, Targa Resources Form Texas JV

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) LP and Targa Resources Partners LP have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture to construct natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionation facilities at Mont Belvieu, TX, to provide services for producers in the Utica and Marcellus shale resource plays in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Economist Foresees Move Away From Shale Investment

A leading energy economist expects the shale boom to retreat somewhat amid weak returns on capital investments that are already causing investors to turn their attention offshore where “risks are more understood.”

Human-Machine Interfaces Can Benefit Oil & Gas Industry

Standard practices today simply use human machine interfaces (HMI) as windows into a system by allowing some information to be passed back and forth through those windows. This method anticipates the user having the knowledge to use that information both in and out of the system, such as coming up with solutions to problems or passing the information along to the correct individuals.

Court Rejects BPs Gulf Spill Settlement Appeal

One of BP’s attempts to curb pay outs for what it says are “fictitious” and “absurd” claims related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has failed after an appeal was rejected by a U.S. court, according to Reuters.

Obama to act on Keystone in next couple of months

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama told U.S. state governors at a White House meeting Monday that he expects to decide on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada in the next couple of months, two Republican governors said.

Overcoming Data Deluge With Operations Management

Our increasingly digital world – with all of the texting, emailing, tweeting, posting, downloading and streaming that’s become commonplace – is creating huge amounts of data, more than than ever before. Pipeline operators are faced with a similar phenomenon when it comes to information overload. Intelligent devices for safety, fire and gas, instrumentation, intelligent motor control and condition-based monitoring offer many individual types of information, each with related alarms.

Growth In Domestic Crude, Natural Gas Expected To Continue For Many Years

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Annual Energy Outlook 2014 Reference case shows that recent growth in domestic crude oil and natural gas production is expected to continue for many years.

Eagle Ford Shale Will Continue To Contribute Significantly Toward Crude Oil Production

Production from the Eagle Ford Shale – an unconventional resource play – will continue to grow in 2014, fueling a reduction in net crude imports and driving exports of refined products in the U.S. to pre-1990 levels, says a report from research and consulting firm GlobalData.

Train accidents stir worries about crude transport

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — At least 10 times since 2008, freight trains hauling oil across North America have derailed and spilled significant quantities of crude, with most of the accidents touching off fires or catastrophic explosions.

Energy Turning Ghost Towns To Boom Towns

During my annual hunting pilgrimage back home to northwestern North Dakota last fall, I was struck by the differing opinions about how the recent oil development activity has affected families and communities.

Feds: Oil from Dakota fields improperly classified

WASHINGTON (AP) — Government investigators have found crude oil being transported from North Dakota's Bakken region was misclassified in samples taken from 11 out of 18 truck shipments en route to rail loading stations, federal transportation officials said Tuesday.

Tourmaline Pipeline Team Uncovers Gigantic Dinosaur Fossil In Alberta

On Oct. 1, a crew working for Tourmaline Oil Corp. was clearing the right-of-way for a new pipeline near Spirit River, Alberta, Canada when they cracked open a rock that revealed the massive fossil of a dinosaur tailbone.

Canyon Midstream Starts Permian Basin Development

Canyon Midstream Partners is developing a natural gas gathering, processing and treating system in the Permian Basin.

Broad coalition backs Keystone XL oil pipeline

WASHINGTON (AP) — An unusual coalition of Republican and Democratic lawmakers, labor and business leaders, veterans groups and Canada's ambassador to the United States joined forces Tuesday to push for quick approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Keystone XL foes undaunted by State Dept. report

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — With yet another obstacle removed for the Keystone XL pipeline, opponents were pressing forward with a lawsuit to challenge the project, public protests and an effort to inject the issue into the November elections.

The Name Of The Game Is Still Pipelines

Tonight I’d like to cover several topics important to all of us. Projections for increased production of natural gas and crude oil, transportation of said commodities to the marketplace, climate change and politics.

Natural Gas Big Winner In Presidents State Of Union Speech

President Obama placed far less emphasis on energy policy Tuesday night than he had in any of his four previous State of the Union speeches, offering neither any surprises nor any comment on the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Chevron Suspends Shale Gas Exploration In Romania

Chevron was forced to suspend exploration for shale gas in northeastern Romania after hundreds of anti-fracking protesters tore down fences.

Oiltanking Partners To Start $200 Million Crude Expansion Projects

Oiltanking Partners, L.P has approved $200 million of crude expansion projects. The Partnership intends to construct two crude oil pipelines connecting its Houston terminal with Crossroads (sometimes referred to as Moore Road) Junction, a critical distribution point for the Houston market, for $98 million.

Building Americas Natural Gas Highway

In late November, Lowe’s Cos. Inc., the home improvement chain, announced it would join the growing list of major trucking fleets switching to natural gas instead of diesel fuel. Walmart, UPS and FedEx are already making the move to natural gas in some trucking routes, raising the prospect that America’s natural gas highway (ANGH) could gain sufficient momentum. Clean Energy has announced its commitment to ANGH, which it says will include 150 LNG fueling stations by next year.

Israel On The Cusp Of An Energy Revolution

Israel is facing a quandary these days, one that nearly every country in the world wishes it had.

Canadas U.S. Ambassador On Pipelines, Climate Change And Why Canada (And Its Exports) Cant Be Stopped

With the continued lack of resolution to the Keystone XL approval question, the swift change in U.S. fossil energy production rates, and the boom in unconventional sources of energy, the last few years have changed long-standing patterns of energy trade between the United States and Canada. The issues are momentous in their own right, but the U.S.-Canadian relationship is more than special: it forms the world’s largest bilateral energy market. U.S. Energy Information Administration figures account for 3 million barrels of oil and petroleum products and 11 Tcf/d of natural gas crossing the border in 2011. The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa estimates that it is a $100 billion annual partnership.

Line Filling Begins On Southern Leg Of Keystone XL Pipeline

TransCanada Corp. began filling its Gulf Coast Pipeline – the southern leg of the Keystone XL project – with oil on Dec. 7.

Energy Reform Amendment Passes Mexico's Congress

President Enrique Peña Nieto's promised energy reform amendment to Mexico's constitution passed Congress Dec. 12, paving the way for state governments to ratify the amendment and new rules for the country's energy production and transportation to be written in the 120 days following.

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