Pipeline
Retrofitting Customized Valves, Actuators for Pipeline Monitoring Stations
Oil and gas engineers face a major problem in accurately and reliably measuring and monitoring the various fluids that are introduced into oil pipelines from well site pumping stations. A thorough understanding of both the oil separation process and the properties of valves and actuators is required to correctly specify a system that will sufficiently measure and monitor these various types of fluids. Also, the conditions downstream from each well are different, requiring valves and actuators to be highly customized to their specific role in the process.
IEA Sees No Oil Price Rebound for Years But ...
Oil prices are likely to stay below $80 per barrel for another five years, according to a closely watched energy report. The International Energy Agency released its 2015 <em>World Energy Outlook</em>, with predictions for energy markets out to 2040. Although there are no shortage of caveats, the IEA projects that oil prices will only rebound slowly and intermittently, and the supply overhang will slowly ease through the rest of the decade. In its “central” scenario, it sees oil prices rebalancing in 2020 at $80 bbl, with increases in the years following.
Getting Basics of Construction Productivity Right
The U.S. midstream oil and gas construction industry has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade, forcing industry stakeholders from across the nation to work together under extreme environmental conditions, compressed project schedules, persistent labor fluctuations and ongoing cost pressures.
As Total US Crude Imports Fall, Canadas Import Supply Share Rises
Although overall U.S. crude oil imports have been declining since 2005, crude oil imports from Canada have been increasing. As of August, Canada provided 45% of all crude oil imports to the United States, almost three times as much as all Persian Gulf countries combined.
Blast Levels New Jersey Duplex; 1 Reported Dead
ELIZABETH, NJ (AP) — An explosion in northern New Jersey that leveled a duplex Wednesday, knocking a next-door neighbor out of bed, killing one resident and leaving two other people in critical condition with severe burns, officials said. In all, 14 people were taken to hospitals, including an 11-year-old who was one of the critically injured in the Elizabeth explosion, Mayor Chris Bollwage said. The names and ages of the victims weren't immediately released.
TransCanada Awarded Contract for Tuxpan Tula Pipeline in Mexico
MEXICO CITY – TransCanada announced it won the contract to build, own and operate the Tuxpan-Tula Pipeline in Mexico. Construction is supported under a 25-year natural gas transportation service agreement with the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico's state owned power company. The pipeline will originate in Tuxpan, in the state of Veracruz, and extend through the states of Puebla and Hidalgo, supplying natural gas to CFE combined-cycle power generating facilities in each of those jurisdictions, as well as to the central and western regions of Mexico.
Technip Awarded Contract Hydrogen Plant in Montana
Technip was awarded a contract by CHS Inc. to provide technology as well as engineering, procurement and construction for a 40,000-normal-cubic-meter-per-hour grassroots hydrogen plant at the CHS Refinery in Laurel, MT. The plant is part of ongoing upgrades to boost efficiency, increase diesel production and process additional crudes at its refinery.
GPR, EM Technologies Offer Rewards in Environmental Assessments
Geophysical surveys can be the bedrock – pardon the pun – of environmental projects, from locating abandoned underground storage tanks (USTs) and utilities, to complex mapping of geology in remedial investigations and finding landfill boundaries and other buried unknown problems.
Oil Market Uncertainties, Growing Natural Gas Production Projected in 2016
The <em>Pipeline & Gas Journal 35th Annual 500 Report</em> is the industry’s most comprehensive listing of U.S. energy pipeline systems. As in past years, the report ranks gas distribution, liquids and gas transmission systems. Gas transmission companies are listed by total miles of pipe. Gas distribution operators by number of customers and liquids pipelines by total crude oil and products delivered.
Ending Ban on Oil Exports Looms as Biggest Hurdle for Oil Industry
As President Obama smugly twiddles his thumbs and decides when he’ll put Keystone out of its misery, sides are being taken, mostly along political lines, in the real debate that will decide the fate of the domestic oil industry: ending the outdated 1975 ban on crude oil exports. Obama, of course, sees no need to lift the ban, though he says he might reconsider IF the oil industry gives up its tax breaks. As one expected, Hillary Clinton, presumptive Democratic nominee for president, also opposes ending the ban.
Ozark Pipeline Upgrade Planned Beneath Mississippi River
Canadian company Enbridge will make $17.3 million in improvements to its Ozark Pipeline along a 4,000-foot segment that runs beneath the Mississippi River into north St. Louis. The work is scheduled for completion in 2016. Crews will bore under the river, welding 22-inch steel pipe together on the Missouri side, before pulling it through a new tunnel. The 435-mile Ozark Pipeline carries up to 215,000 bpd of oil from Oklahoma through Missouri, en route to the Wood River, IL refinery, Enbridge said.
Anadarko Withdraws Rejected Apache Takeover Bid
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation today announced it withdrew its offer to buy rival oil company Apache in what would have been the biggest takeover of a U.S. crude producer this year. The proposed all-stock transaction, which included a modest premium, was based on public information and Apache's historic financial and operating under-performance, according to Anadarko President and CEO Al Walker. The transaction offered shareholders of both companies numerous value-creation opportunities.
Enable Holding Binding Open Season for Cana and STACK Expansion
OKLAHOMA CITY – Enable Gas Transmission will conduct a binding open season seeking commitments for its Cana and STACK Expansion (CaSE). Together with existing EGT system capacity and EGT capacity on third-party pipelines, the CaSE project will provide residue takeaway solutions for growing production from the Cana Woodford play, as well as the Sooner Trend, Anadarko, Canadian and Kingfisher “STACK” region.
Appalachian Midstream Operators Face Myriad of Challenges
This has been a busy year of new challenges and issues facing the Appalachian oil and gas industry as rig count in the Appalachian Basin and elsewhere is down substantially compared to the previous two years. A significant challenge ahead for shale developers in a lower price environment is to continue to be active in finding land, drilling wells and getting the natural resource to market. This article concerns our most recent report, published in May, on the issues and challenges facing midstream operators in the Appalachian Basin.
Oil Prices Forecast to Stay Low Until 2020
PARIS (AP) — Oil prices are likely to remain low over the next five years because of plentiful supply and falling demand in developed countries, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday in its annual forecast. The Paris-based body, which advises developed countries on energy policy, says it expects oil prices to return to $80 per barrel in 2020, with further increases after that. Oil prices are down more than 50% since the middle of last year. On Tuesday, the U.S. crude oil contract was trading at $43.95 a barrel.
Turkmenistan, Afghanistan To Lay 1,140-Mile Pipeline
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) — Turkmenistan and Afghanistan have agreed to jointly launch the construction of a multi-billion dollar pipeline that will pump natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, Turkmen state media reported Tuesday. Turkmenistan is believed to have the world's fourth-largest gas reserves, but currently exports almost all of it to China. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov on Monday discussed the new pipeline in a phone call with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who hailed it as "extremely important for the entire region."
Apache Resists Unsolicited Takeover Bid
Apache Corporation, a Houston-based oil and gas exploration company, says it has fended off an unsolicited takeover bid, and will continue to defend against follow up attempts to buy out the company. Bloomberg reported the news, and thus far the bidder has not been identified. The company’s shares jumped on the news, up more than 10% during midday trading Monday. Apache is worth about $18 billion, so if a takeover were to occur, it would be the largest for an independent oil and gas company this year.
Study: Dispersants Failed to Help Oil Degrade in BP Spill
WASHINGTON — The chemical sprayed on the 2010 BP oil spill may not have helped crucial petroleum-munching microbes get rid of the slick, a new study suggested. And that leads to more questions about where much of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill went. If the new results are true, up to half the oil can't be accounted for, said the author of a new study on the spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Willbros Wins 2 Projects in Atlantic Seaboard Area
Willbros Group announced its utility technology and development segment won two projects with a total contract value of about $29 million. One project is for the installation of 115KVA duct bank in a congested urban setting and is expected to be underway in January 2016, taking a year to complete. The second project is the for replacement of steel and plastic gas mains, and about 1,900 gas service connections, also in an urban setting, with work beginning first quarter of 2016 and finishing in 2017.
Analysis: Polarized Politics Dictated Obama Keystone Call
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's decision to block the Keystone XL oil pipeline has exposed an endlessly polarized Washington, and likely hardened its divides. Obama is now being praised to the skies by environmentalists and most Democrats, and denounced in apocalyptic terms by Republicans and the business community. And although environmental issues once produced bipartisan agreement in Congress, consensus on action to increase energy production or deal with climate change looks farther away than ever.
Latin America Forced to Face Growing Supply-Demand Gap
Latin America’s prominence on the world gas stage has increased over the last several years. Although it is well-endowed with natural gas resources, the region has struggled to find its footing as both a natural gas producer and consumer. Consequently, Latin America’s potential as a natural gas import province is the topic of increasingly animated debate.
North Dakota Losing Appeal Among Drillers, Refiners
The performance of <em>Blood & Oil,</em> a soap opera based on the North Dakota oil boom, is not going well. The show saw its episodes trimmed by ABC amid tepid viewer interest. But the real life Bakken is also suffering from a lack of interest, a development that doesn’t bode well for the oil-producing region. The Bakken had been a key part of the U.S. shale boom over the past half-decade. But production peaked at 1.22 MMbpd in December 2014. Since then production has bounced around, with month-to-month fluctuations, but is slightly down from that high point reached almost a year ago.
Natural Gas Market Dynamics in the Northeast
Natural gas markets have gone topsy-turvy. Until recently, prices around the country were generally pretty similar, with gas costing a bit more in the Northeast, far from where it was produced on the Gulf of Mexico coast. But that reality has changed dramatically in the last few years.
1,000 Barrels of Crude Spill from Pipeline in Rural Oklahoma
BILLINGS, Okla. (AP) — A Tulsa-based pipeline company says about 1,000 barrels of crude oil has spilled from a pipeline in rural Oklahoma. Bruce Heine, a spokesman for Magellan Midstream Partners, said in an email Friday the oil was released about 6 p.m. Thursday from a Magellan pipeline that stretches from Enid to Ponca City. He said the spill occurred in a rural area near Billings and no injuries occurred.
ROSEN Rolls Out Mobile Pipeline Diagnostics Units
ROSEN rolled out its much-anticipated R3 Service – which stands for responsive, rapid and reliable – before a large gathering of inquisitive industry executives and operators Oct. 28 in Houston. At the center of the new service is a fleet of high-end mobile diagnostics units capable of carrying all the diagnostic equipment necessary to sites throughout the United States.
Killing Keystone XL, Obama Says Pipeline Not in US Interests
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama rejected an application to build the Keystone XL pipeline Friday after 7 years of federal review, declaring the proposed project wouldn't serve U.S. national interests and would have undercut America's global leadership on climate change.
Laney Finds Pushing Pipe Has Its Advantages
Laney Directional Drilling, which last year used Direct Pipe technology to make an underground pipeline crossing through wetlands in the Northeast feasible, explained the process to attendees at a symposium on Oct. 14 in Houston. Direct Pipe is a single-pass process that uses a steerable tunnel-boring “pipe thruster” to push pipe into place, while at the same time filling the void as it progresses. The process, according to Laney, is highly advantageous when crossing levees and environmentally sensitive areas.
With a Chill in the Air, Thoughts in New England Turn to Heating Bills
As winter approaches, the hot topic of conversation in the Northeast once again becomes the looming frigid temperatures and accompanying burdensome cost of heating homes and offices along with powering manufacturing plants. With this in mind, the Access Northeast project developers plan to upgrade existing pipeline facilities and market area storage assets in New England to deliver – on peak days – up to 1 Bcf/d of natural gas for electric-generation markets.
State Dept. Rejects TransCanada Request for Keystone Delay
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration said Wednesday it is continuing a review of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, despite a request by the project's developer to suspend the review. If granted, a delay could have put off a decision on the high-profile project until the next president takes office in 2017. President Barack Obama has yet to say whether he would approve or reject the pipeline, but the Democrats running for president have all said they oppose it while Republican candidates support it.
AP Exclusive: CA Governor Had State Workers Research Oil on His Family's Ranch
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown last year directed state oil and gas regulators to research, map and report back on any mining and oil drilling potential and history at the Brown family's private land in Northern California.
- Williams' $1 Billion Gas Pipeline Blocked by U.S. Appeals Court, Derailing Five-State Project
- Texas Waha Hub Gas Prices Plunge to Record Lows, Hit Negative Territory
- U.S. Buys Nearly 5 Million Barrels of Oil for Emergency Stockpile
- U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down Controversial Biden Pipeline Safety Rules
- Texas Oil Pipelines Near Max Capacity, Threatening Future Export Limits
- Report: Houston Region Poised to Become a Global Clean Hydrogen Hub
- Exxon Mobil to Start Gas Reserve Seismic Surveys in Greece
- LaPorte, Texas, Issues Shelter in Place After Altivia Plant Leaks Toxic Gas
- Texas Startup Endeavors Again to Build First Major U.S. Oil Refinery Since 1977
- Mid-Year Global Forecast: Midstream Responding to Demand from LNG Projects
