Pipeline
Combating Noise in Gas Pipeline Transmission
Pipelines have been established for many years as the simplest and most economical way to transport high quantities of natural gas over long distances, moving gas from new shale fields and other production sources to LNG stations, local utilities, industrial plants and natural gas–fired electric power plants. Natural gas pipelines only consume an average of 2-3% of the gas’s potential energy to overcome frictional losses along the route, making them more cost-effective than the use of road or rail transport.
Michels, Precision Pipeline Awarded Contracts for Dakota Access Pipeline
Dakota Access Pipeline, LLC has awarded Michels Pipeline Construction, a Division of Michels Corporation, and Precision Pipeline, LLC construction contracts for multiple segments along the 1,134-mile Dakota Access Pipeline. Once completed, the project will transport light sweet crude oil from the Bakken and Three Forks production areas in North Dakota to Patoka, IL where shippers will be able to access multiple markets, including Midwest, East Coast and Gulf Coast regions.
Keystone Backers Look to Obama's Successor to Make the Call
WASHINGTON (AP) — The company pleading for permission to build the Keystone XL pipeline looked beyond President Barack Obama on Tuesday in apparent hopes a future Republican president would green-light the project. But the administration signaled it was in no mood to hand off the decision to the winner of the 2016 election.
Why Carbon Capture, Storage not Taken Off Yet
For all of the talk about green energy one fact still remains clear: fossil fuels are going to continue to be used in enormous quantities for decades to come. From China and India to the United States and Canada, the world is flooded with growing markets looking for new sources of fossil fuels and developed markets coming up with new ways to extract those fossil fuels. India, for instance, is on track to double its use of coal as a main source of energy over the next 20 years.
ILI Offers Technology that Will Continue to Advance
There are about 3.5 million kilometers of oil and gas pipelines worldwide needing regular cleaning, inspection and maintenance, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA).
TransCanada Asks US to Suspend Pipeline Application Review
TORONTO (AP) — After waiting seven years for a decision, the company behind the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas has asked the U.S. State Department to suspend its review of the project. The move comes as the Obama administration increasingly appeared likely to reject the pipeline permit application. TransCanada said Monday it had sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry requesting that the State Department suspend its review of the pipeline application. Until recently, it would have been unimaginable for the Calgary, Alberta-based company to ask for a delay.
US Propane Exports Increasing, Reaching More Distant Markets
As U.S. propane production has increased and domestic demand has remained relatively flat, the United States has transitioned from being a net propane importer to a net exporter. Facilitated by rapid expansion in the capacity to export domestic supply, propane exports from the United States are changing traditional propane trade patterns across the globe.
Vallourec to Supply 14,000 Tons of Pipe for Deepwater Project
Vallourec has deliveries totaling 14,000 tons of premium tubes in the scope of a contract with Hess Corp. for the Stampede project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Stampede is a deepwater subsea development located in the Green Canyon Block area, 115 miles south of Fourchon, LA.
In the News: California Tightens Responses to Future Energy Spills
Just months after a pipeline rupture dumped 20,000 gallons of oil into the ocean on Oct. 8 near Santa Barbara, CA, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a package of bills aimed at preventing and better responding to future spills. Brown said he signed the bills “in order to more fully protect our inland and coastal communities and environments from the harm of oil spills.”
Midstream Segment Boosts 3rd Quarter Deal Activity, According to PwC US
HOUSTON – Megadeals in the midstream segment dominated U.S. oil and gas deal value despite a slow-down in capital markets in the third quarter of 2015, according to PwC US. In total, there were 14 midstream deals accounting for $63.5 billion in the third quarter of 2015, or 70% of overall deal value.
Atlantic Coast Pipeline to Build $5 Billion Natural Gas System
Four major U.S. companies – Dominion, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources – formed Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC to build a $5 billion interstate natural gas pipeline. The 564-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) will be capable of delivering up to 1.5 MMbcf/d of gas that will be used to generate electricity, heat homes and run local businesses in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
Nepal Turns to China for Fuel after India Restricts Supply
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Fuel-starved Nepal has signed an agreement with China to import gasoline, diesel and cooking gas, effectively ending a monopoly on supply from India, which has restricted fuel convoys as a result of political protests in the Himalayan nation. The decision to import Chinese oil amid severe shortages has brought China a step closer to Nepal, which traditionally is more influenced by India in the south. The two Asian giants have been jostling for influence in landlocked Nepal.
Mexico Gains Final Permission for US Crude Oil Imports
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. has given Mexico final permission to import about 75,000 barrels of light crude per day from north of the border. In return, Mexico will send heavier crude to U.S. Gulf coast refineries. The permit applies for one year. Mexico's state-owned Pemex oil company said Wednesday the arrangement will allow better logistics and refinery use, and reduce transport costs. Mexico is a major crude oil exporter, but sometimes is squeezed to produce refined products like gasoline. In August, the U.S. lifted a decades-old ban on crude oil exports.
Why Does Firewood Cost so Much? Fracking's Part of It
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Northeasterners who are digging deeper into their pockets to pay for firewood this season can add a new scapegoat to the roster of usual market forces: fracking. Yep, a timber industry representative in New Hampshire said those hydraulic fracturing well sites in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale formation to suck natural gas out of the ground are using construction "mats" made of hardwood logs — think of the corduroy roads seen in sepia-toned photographs from the 1800s — to get heavy equipment over mucky ground, wetlands or soft soils.
Is Oil Trending? How Twitter Influences Oil Price Volatility
Crude oil prices don't care what's #trending. Just as negativity lingers, volatility breeds more volatility. Wild periods repeat and feed upon themselves. In the global marketplace, dramatic swings in Asia can spread to the West with ferocity.
United Arab Emirates Plans to Increase Crude Oil, Natural Gas Production
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the world's sixth-largest oil producer in 2014, and the second-largest producer of petroleum and other liquids inOPEC, behind only Saudi Arabia. Because the prospects for further oil discoveries in the UAE are low, the UAE is relying on the application of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques in mature oil fields to increase production.
Alabama Announces $20 million Settlement with Transocean
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The owner of the drilling rig involved in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is paying Alabama $20 million to resolve legal claims related to the disaster. Gov. Robert Bentley's office announced the settlement with Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig. The governor said Alabama suffered tremendous economic losses from the disaster, which dumped nearly 134 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Bentley has said he wants to steer at least part of the Transocean money to the state's Medicaid program.
ConocoPhillips Gets Approval for Production Site inside Alaska Federal Reserve
ConocoPhillips gained approval to build the first oil production facilities at a federal reserve in Alaska. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management approval allows the company to construct an 11.8-acre drilling pad and other infrastructure within the reserve. The project boosts the possibility of adding oil to the 800-mile-long Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, designed to ferry 2 MMbpd of crude from the North Slope. It is currently at about 25% capacity due to production declines.
Day Of Reckoning for US Shale Will Have To Wait
October has been billed as a pivotal month in which indebted shale companies would see their credit lines cut, precipitating a faster consolidation in the industry that would sow the seeds of a rebound.
Schlumberger CEO: Rebound in Oil Will Take Longer than Many Expect
Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services company, is revising its outlook for a recovery in energy prices, and says it plans to reduce spending, through more layoffs for example, in order to remain profitable. In July, Schlumberger’s CEO, Paal Kibsgaard, said he expected oil prices to begin recovering by the end of 2015. But in a conference call with analysts on Oct. 16 he said prices may not begin rising until 2017.
Interior Department Curbs Future Arctic Offshore Drilling
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Interior Department announced Friday it is canceling future lease sales and will not extend current leases in Arctic waters off Alaska's northern coast, a decision that significantly reduces the chances for future Arctic offshore drilling. The news follows a Sept. 28 announcement by Royal Dutch Shell that it would cease exploration in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas after spending upward of $7 billion on Arctic exploration. The company cited disappointing results from a well drilled in the Chukchi and the unpredictable federal regulatory environment.
Monitoring Gas Turbines Using Speedtronic Mark VI Control Systems
Gas turbine protection systems consist of a number of subsystems, including several run during each stop and normal startup. Other systems and components operate strictly during emergencies and abnormal operating conditions. The most common type of failure on gas turbines is that of a sensor or the wiring of sensor protection systems, which are configured to detect an alarm.
Pipeline Stations: From Pre-Commissioning to Start-Up
Commissioning involves the use of a disciplined, systematic methodology to convert the constructed compressor station into an integrated and operational unit within a gas transmission system. This process should be implemented in a safe and efficient manner within a defined time-frame and budget. The successful operation of a compressor station strongly depends on the quality of three stages of the commissioning: pre-commissioning, core commissioning and start-up. New guidelines, latest lessons learned and modern practical notes must be addressed.
Compression: Pumping It Up Toward Perfection
In today’s climate change-constricted world, engineers who are comfortable with the role compression can play in unraveling the mystery of how to eliminate methane leaks and still produce newly unlocked massive North American natural gas supplies will always be in high demand. It is this sort of industrial puzzle that keeps folks on their toes at organizations such as the Gas Machinery Research Council (GMRC), the Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA).
Is Oil and Gas Fire Sale about to Start?
Much has been written about the mounting pile of debt for U.S. oil companies (not to mention the well-known Brazilian oil giant).
Oil Companies Pledge Support for Paris Climate Deal
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The chief executives of 10 of the world's biggest oil and gas companies have pledged support for an "effective" deal to fight global warming at a Paris conference next month. In a statement Friday, the CEOs of BP, Shell, Saudi Aramco, Total, Repsol, Statoil, Eni, Petroelos Mexicanos, Reliance Industries and BG Group said they recognize greenhouse gas emissions trends are inconsistent with the ambition to keep warming below a level many consider dangerous. Burning coal, oil and gas for energy is a key emissions source.
Snelsons New Leader Spreading the Word on Range of Pipeline Services
Snelson Companies opened its doors in 1946 as a small family-owned plumbing and heating business in Sedro-Woolley, WA. Frank Snelson, Sr. opened and ran the business with his three sons, Frank Jr., Jack and Bill. Bill, the youngest of the three, took over for his father in 1957. By 1966, Snelson was among the top hundred mechanical contracting firms in the U.S.
Green Light for Dominions $76.6 Million Clarington Project
Dominion Transmission Inc. received FERC approval for its Clarington project to provide an additional 250,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity which is fully and solely subscribed by Consol Energy Inc. under a 15-year precedent agreement. The project involves construction of two 10,000-hp compressors at the Mullet Compressor Station in Monroe and an additional 6,000 hp of compression at the Burch Ridge Compressor Station in Marshall County, WV.
ANSI/API Recommended Practice 1173 Released; What Does It Means for Pipeline Safety?
On July 8, 2015, the American Petroleum Institute (API) released the first edition of ANSI/API Recommended Practice (RP) 1173 Pipeline Safety Management Systems. As an ANSI designated standards document, the RP became the national standard for pipeline safety management systems (PSMSs) in the U.S.
New Integrity Solutions Facing Many Same Old Problems
The protection of oil, gas and refined product pipelines against natural events such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis, not to mention human actions including construction excavations, illegal tapping and terrorist sabotage, is an ongoing concern for operators around the world. However, in the United States, the top three causes of pipeline failure reported by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) are construction excavations, corrosion and equipment failure (Figure1).
- 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
