Pipeline

Europe’s Final Hope For Energy Independence From Russia

Europe’s reluctance towards reliance upon Russian natural gas trade is no secret. It’s also no surprise, due to fallouts between Russia and Ukraine (a major transit country for the trade) in 2006, 2009 and 2014. Currently Russia and Ukraine do not even have a bilateral gas trade, but Russian gas is ..

Militants Claim Blast of Another Nigeria Oil Pipeline

WARRI, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian militants say they have blown up another crude pipeline owned by Italian oil company Agip. The Niger Delta Avengers announced the early-morning blast in Bayelsa state in a tweet Friday. The latest blast comes a few days after the militants rejected the government’s o..

Pipeline Work Begins in Iowa, Protesters Vow Nonviolent Acts

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Work has begun in Iowa on an oil pipeline despite repeated attempts by landowners and environmental groups to stop it, a spokeswoman for the Texas company building the pipeline said Thursday. The Iowa Utilities Board signed a final order Wednesday allowing construction on th..

Williams-Energy Transfer Merger Passes Muster – with Conditions

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Thursday that Energy Transfer Equity (ETD) and The Williams Companies will divest Williams’ interest in an interstate natural gas pipeline to settle claims that ETE’s proposed acquisition of Williams would likely harm competition in Florida. The proposed merg..

House Unanimously Passes Pipeline Safety Act

The House on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill reauthorizing the Federal Pipeline Safety Oversight Board. It now goes back to the Senate where it already passed on voice vote in its initial version. The legislation, known as the PIPES Act, would change PHMSA safety policies by adding greater tr..

Plains All American Pipeline Project Gets OK in North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators have approved a short crude oil pipeline project in Mountrail County. The Bismarck Tribune reports that the 10-mile pipeline will be able to move up to 1 million gallons per day at full capacity. Cost is estimated at $9 million. Officials with Ho..

Hydratight Completes Pipeline Upgrade Project in Western Australia

Joint integrity specialist Hydratight has completed an upgrade project on a section of subsea pipeline on the North West Shelf of Western Australia. Contracted by Western Australia-based Quadrant Energy on behalf of the John Brookes Joint Venture, Hydratight engineered, manufactured, delivered and ..

EnLink Midstream to Expand in the Core of Permian’s Midland Basin with New Crude Oil Gathering System

A subsidiary of EnLink Midstream Partners, LP and EnLink Midstream, LLC will construct a new crude oil gathering system, the Greater Chickadee crude oil gathering project, in Upton and Midland counties in the Permian Basin. It will cost approximately $70 million to $80 million to build Greater Chick..

Holly Energy Buys Interest in Cheyenne Pipeline

Holly Energy Partners acquired half interest in Cheyenne Pipeline LLC, owner of the Cheyenne Pipeline, for $42.5 million. The other half of the assets are owned by an affiliate of Plains All American Pipeline, which will continue to operate the pipeline. The 87-mile crude oil pipeline, which runs f..

Iowa Board Votes to Allow Pipeline Work to Begin in State

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Texas company may begin construction on an oil pipeline in areas for which the company has approval but is not under federal jurisdiction, the Iowa Utilities Board said Monday despite opposition from environmental and citizen action organizations and landowners who are suin..

NEB Says Mackenzie Gas Project Still in Public Interest

The National Energy Board (NEB) will move the sunset clauses for the Mackenzie Gas Project’s Mackenzie Valley Pipeline and Mackenzie Gathering System to Dec. 31, 2022. The extension to the sunset clause for the pipeline does not come into effect until it is approved by the federal government. In a ..

PG&E Fined $24.3 Million for Poor Record Keeping on Gas Pipelines

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — State regulators are seeking $24.3 million in penalties from California’s largest utility for failing to maintain accurate records of its natural gas distribution system. The California Public Utilities Commission said Wednesday that it has already fined Pacific Gas and Ele..

Kinder Gains Federal Approval for LNG Export Project

Kinder Morgan subsidiaries Elba Liquefaction Company and Southern LNG Company received FERC authorization for the $2 billion Elba Liquefaction Project. The project, supported by a 20-year contract with Shell, will be constructed at the existing Elba Island LNG Terminal near Savannah, GA. The first ..

Sierra Club Files Suit Against New Construction of Bakken Pipeline

The Iowa branch of the Sierra Club has filed a lawsuit against the state’s Utilities Board (IUB) and Dakota Access LCC in an effort to block the construction of a pipeline that would connect North Dakota’s energy resources to the southern half of the United States. Wally Taylor, a lawyer for the na..

Iowa Board Moves Toward Allowing Pipeline Project to Begin

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Utilities Board moved closer Wednesday to allowing a Texas oil pipeline company to begin construction in Iowa in areas for which it has landowner approval and permits, though construction still will have to wait in zones that are under federal jurisdiction. The thre..

Iowa Utilities Board to Meet Wednesday on Pipeline Project

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Utilities Board has called a meeting for Wednesday to consider allowing construction to begin on an oil pipeline in areas outside federal jurisdiction. Houston-based Dakota Access LLC wants to begin digging the Iowa portion of a 1,150-mile pipeline from North Dakota..

Militants Shut Down Chevron's Escravos, Onshore in Nigeria

WARRI, Nigeria (AP) — Militants bombed a pipeline feeding electricity to Chevron’s Escravos terminal Thursday, shutting down the U.S.-based oil major’s onshore operations in Nigeria, the attackers and residents said. It was the third assault on a Chevron Nigeria facility this month. It’s the latest..

Memorial Day Gasoline Prices Lowest since 2009

The U.S. average retail price for gasoline was $2.30 per gallon (gal) on May 23, 47 cents per gallon (cents/gal) lower than at the same time last year, and the lowest average price just before Memorial Day weekend (the start of the summer driving season) since 2009. Lower gasoline prices reflect low..

Why $50 Oil Is Here To Stay

Now that oil prices have rebounded to $50 per barrel, will U.S. shale drillers turn the taps back on? That is the million dollar question that the oil markets still do not have a clear answer on. Last year, when oil prices rebounded from $44 per barrel in March to $60 in June, the rig count leveled..

Baltimore Gas and Electric Continues to Accelerate Natural Gas Infrastructure Replacement

Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE)  continues to modernize the natural gas system serving customers in central Maryland, replacing more than 52 miles of gas mains in the first two full years under the company’s Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement (STRIDE) plan. Another 45 miles of ga..

Reform Leads to Opportunities, says Mexico’s Energy Secretary

Mexican Energy Secretary Pedro Joaquin Coldwell used the launch of a regional oil and gas forum Thursday in the nation’s capital to reiterate his country’s commitment to the reform of its domestic energy market. Citing measures initiated by President Enrique Peña Nieto and approved by the nation’s ..

2015 Worst Year For Oil Discoveries Since 1952

A report by Rystad Energy has revealed that new oil discoveries in 2015 totaled 12.1 billion barrels, which is the least amount of new oil discovered in a single year since 1952. Last year was also the fifth year in a row in which the amount of new reserves discovered was smaller than in the previo..

Why Did Saudi Arabia Kill OPEC?

The OPEC meeting is only a week away, but the chances of a positive result are as remote as ever. Rising oil prices, the heightened rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Saudi Arabia’s willingness to go it alone will make a deal all but impossible. First of all, Iran is not in a cooperative mo..

Industrial, Electric Power Sectors Drive Projected Growth for US Natural Gas

U.S. consumption of natural gas is projected to rise from 28 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2015 to 34 Tcf in 2040, an average increase of about 1% annually, according to EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2016 (AEO2016) Reference case. The industrial and electric power sectors make up 49% and 34% of this gr..

Mozambique’s LNG Dreams Falling Apart

Mozambique is heading towards a major default on outstanding loans related to offshore natural gas infrastructure, symbolizing the deflating hopes for a major source of new natural gas production from East Africa. The state-owned Mozambique Asset Management is set to default on $535 million in loan..

India May Lose Prize Iranian Gas Field To Saudi Arabia

India’s state-owned oil and gas giant ONGC risks losing a massive Persian Gulf gas field in a contracting hurdle, as it races against Saudi Arabia to extract gas reserves from two fields spanning the Iran-Saudi Arabia border. India’s flagship explorer does not have the necessary contract to exploit..

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 ..

ITC Seeks Shippers for Pipeline from Pasadena Terminal

ITC Pipeline Company announced it launched an open season for a new petroleum products pipeline system south of Houston in Pasadena, TX. The system consists of two 36-inch injecting pipelines and two 16-inch return lines running 1.7 miles between a terminal and interconnections with Colonial and Exp..

AP Interview: Qatar Energy Minister Wants 'Fair' Oil Price

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The oil market is slowly recovering from its steep drop over the past two years but crude is still not trading at a “fair price” to encourage necessary investment, Qatar’s energy and industry minister said Tuesday, ahead of next week’s meeting of OPEC producers. Speaking to The A..

Eni’s Nigeria Pipeline Attacked For The Fourteenth Time This Year

An Italian Eni pipeline has been attacked again, for the fourteenth time this year, putting 4,200 barrels of oil per day of Eni production offline amid a resurgence in militancy. An Eni spokesman contacted by UPI confirmed the attack late on Saturday on the Ogbaimbiri-Tebidaba pipeline in Bayelsa s..