Pipeline
Compression Report: Trade Keeps Sharp Eye on Changing Market
It’s a topic the general public doesn’t know much about, but there would be no natural gas pipelines – hence no natural gas – without compressors. Today compression is a main topic of conversation in the industry for many reasons, environment – which includes siting, noise and emissions control – economics, and engineering/construction challenges. As the natural gas industry continues to expand and change direction, more pipelines will be built in the next few years, all dependent on compression.
Strategy Report Points to Improved Safety, Smart Pigs
With liquids pipeline incidents down by half since 1999, even as their use to transport crude oil pipeline has increased, there is little doubt among experts about what has led to this success on the safety front – preventive maintenance and integrity management programs.
Ex-Exxon Executive Discusses Lauch of 'Clean' Oil Sands Project
After decades of exhaustive attempts to overcome the dirty reputation of oil sands, we finally have an environmentally-friendly and low cost method to tap into these vast resources in the state of Utah – good news both for Mother Nature and all oil and gas investors. MCW Energy Group’s CEO, former Exxon president of the Arabian Gulf region, R. Gerald Bailey, talks about his hunt for an innovative technology that simultaneously makes money and cleans up the environment, and the race to capitalize on Utah’s vast oil sands resources.
2H Offshore Awarded Contracts for Stampede Development in Gulf
2H Offshore, an Acteon company, was awarded two separate contracts, one by Hess Corp. and a second by Enbridge Energy Co., to verify the design, fabrication and installation phases of the Steel Catenary Risers (SCRs) for the Stampede field development in the Gulf of Mexico. The field is operated by Hess.
Canadas Oilfield Service Sector Battered by Low Prices
In some ways the numbers don’t look that bad. For a group of 25 diversified, publicly traded Canadian oilfield service (OFS) companies, combined revenue of nearly $9 billion in the first six months of 2015 was only 22.1% lower than $11.53 billion for the same period in 2014. With oil prices down 50 percent for the first half of 2015, a revenue decline of 22.1% looks misleadingly attractive.
Big Cities Scramble in Preparation for Possible Oil Train Disaster
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — They rumble past schools, homes and businesses in dozens of cities around the country — 100-car trains loaded with crude oil from the Upper Midwest. While railroads have long carried hazardous materials through congested urban areas, cities are now scrambling to formulate emergency plans and to train firefighters amid the latest safety threat: a fiftyfold increase in crude shipments that critics say has put millions of people living or working near the tracks at heightened risk of derailment, fire and explosion.
Clean Up of Mississippi River to Begin after Tow Boat Collision Spills Oil
COLUMBUS, Ky. (AP) — Clean up crews planned to go into the Mississippi River on Friday in Kentucky after a collision between two tow boats caused an oil spill that prompted the closure of that part of the river. The collision Wednesday evening near Columbus, KY, damaged at least one barge carrying clarified slurry oil. The cargo tank ruptured, causing thousands of gallons of oil to spill into the river, the U.S. Coast Guard said. No injuries were reported. The river was closed Thursday from mile-markers 938 to 922, Petty Officer Lora Ratliff said.
Not Everyone Is Happy About Egypts Latest Gas Discovery
The Nile has been the source of life for the people of Egypt for all of recorded history. A blue stripe down the spine of Egypt’s desert terrain, one of the earliest civilizations known to man grew and prospered for centuries along its banks. But long before the first pharaoh, the Nile was laying the groundwork for a resource that would provide for her people today, one layer of organic material at a time.
Fluor Wins Front-End Contract for Ohio Petrochemical Complex
PTT Global Chemical Public Company (PTTGC) selected a Fluor-led team to perform front-end engineering and design work for its proposed petrochemical complex in Belmont County, OH. The team includes Fluor, Technip and SK E&C. The project will encompass an ethane cracker and derivatives units by leveraging the availability of feedstock from gas taken from the Utica and Marcellus shale formations in the region to create chemical products. Front-end activities are expected to be completed in 2016.
FERC Gives Green Light for Dominions Clarington Project
Dominion Transmission Inc. received FERC approval for its Clarington project under a request filed in June 2014. Upon completion, the project will enable Dominion to provide an additional 250,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity, which has been contracted for by Consol Energy, under a 15-year precedent agreement. The project involves construction of two new 10,000-hop compressors at the Mullet Compressor Station in Monroe County, OH and an additional 6,000 hp of compression at the Burch Ridge Compressor Station in Marshall County, WV.
Sempra Wins Gas Transportation Contract in Mexico
Sempra Energy’s Mexican unit Infraestructura Energética Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova), through its subsidiary Gasoducto de Aguaprieta S. de R. L. de C.V., has been awarded a natural gas transportation contract in Chihuahua by the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE). The project includes a header facility with a capacity of 3 Bcf/d of natural gas and a 14-mile pipeline with a capacity of 1,135 MMcf/d. The pipeline will provide gas to the Norte III Combined Cycle Power Generation Plant and will interconnect with Gasoductos de Chihuahua, Tarahumara and Samalayuca-Sásabe pipelines.
Royal Flush? West Texas Fracking Company Uses Toilet Water to Cut Cost
It is no secret that fracking companies across the United States have been turning over every rock in the supply chain looking for ways to cut costs and improve efficiency. That’s what the business requires in a downturn. But now Pioneer Natural Resources seems to be going a step further in the name of price cuts and efficiency. The firm is finding an efficient, if somewhat unconventional, source of water for use in its fracking operations – the neighbors’ toilets.
EIA Says Effects of Removing Crude Export Limits Depend on Price, Resource Assumptions
A new study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on the potential implications of allowing more crude oil exports finds that effects on domestic crude oil production are key to determining the other effects of a policy change. Gasoline prices would be either unchanged or slightly reduced. Trade in crude oil and petroleum products would also be affected.
In the News: Crude Oil Prices Poised to Drop Further
Since the oil price collapse, global oil production has risen, not fallen. Since the fateful Nov. 27, 2014 OPEC meeting, aggregate production from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Iraq is up 2 MMbop/d – far more than demand. November is also when the U.S. inadvertently became the swing oil producer. Prices have not yet fallen far enough or for long enough for an appreciable U.S. supply adjustment to occur. It may not be far off, especially if oil prices fall further with new Iranian supplies, says a study from IHS Energy that notes:
Shell President Says Exploratory Drilling off Alaska Going Well
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The president of Shell Oil Co. said exploratory drilling off Alaska's northwest coast is going well despite stormy weather last week that caused the company to halt operations for a few days. And in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press Marvin Odum said he expects further protests against the company's plans for Arctic drilling like the ones in Seattle and Portland where activists in kayaks tried to block Shell vessels.
ConocoPhillips Safely Delivers 1st Oil at Surmont 2
ConocoPhillips delivered first oil at its Surmont 2 in-situ oil sands facility in Canada, marking a significant milestone for the megaproject. Construction of the single-phase, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project began in 2010. Earlier this year, the company announced first steam, which has heated the reservoir to a point at which the well pairs could be converted to a SAGD configuration, allowing the oil to flow. Production will ramp-up through 2017, adding about 118,000 bpd of gross capacity. Total gross capacity for Surmont 1 and 2 is expected to reach 150,000 Bpd.
Williams Transco Completes Virginia Southside Expansion
Williams placed a major expansion of its Transco natural gas pipeline into service in Virginia ain order to fuel new electric-power generation in North Carolina. The $300 million Virginia Southside Expansion provides 270,000 dth/d of incremental transportation capacity, enough gas to serve the equivalent of 1.6 million households. The expansion consists of about 100 miles of new, 24-inch pipeline extending from the Transco mainline in Pittsylvania County, VA and into Halifax, Charlotte and Mecklenburg. It terminates in Brunswick County, VA.
Steelhead LNG Plans Gas Connector Project on Vancouver Island
Steelhead LNG struck a pre-construction agreement with pipeline developer Williams to design and gain regulatory approvals for the Island Gas Connector Project, a proposed natural gas pipeline to Vancouver Island. The pipeline would transport natural gas 33 miles from Williams’ Northwest Pipeline’s interconnect with Spectra Energy’s BC Pipeline system at Sumas, WA to Cherry Point, WA. From there, it would travel 47 miles subsea, landing directly to the proposed Malahat LNG Project on the island.
Cost, Length of Exxon's Cleanup Still Unclear after Deal
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The $225 million settlement between ExxonMobil and New Jersey reached this week confirms the oil giant must clean up more than 1,500 contaminated properties from gas stations to refineries — but exactly how much they'll spend or how long it'll take remains murky.
Government: PHMSA Sets Standards for State Excavation Policies
House members of both parties drubbed the latest top PHMSA official to appear before Congress to answer questions about lagging pipeline safety rule implementation.
EIA Refines Method for Reporting Monthly Crude Oil Production
With the release of the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM), EIA is incorporating the first survey-based reporting of monthly crude oil production based on an expansion of its survey program earlier this year. The PSM includes EIA's first reporting of June crude oil production. EIA also begins using new survey data from multiple states and regions within the United States, and revises figures previously reported for January through May 2015.
Maersk to Develop Large North Sea Gas Find off British Coast
HELSINKI (AP) — Maersk Oil says it has permission from British authorities to develop a gas field off the British coast in the largest find in the North Sea in a decade. The Danish company said Monday the Culzean field, discovered in 2008, has an estimated 250 to 300 MMBBls of oil equivalent, or enough to produce about 5% of Britain's total gas demand at peak production in 2020-2021. Production is expected to start in 2019 and continue for at least 13 years. Maersk Oil, JX Nippon and BP (Britoil) are investing $4.5 billion in the development.
Why So Much Oil Price Volatility? Blame the Speculators
Oil prices crashed lonly to rebound at lightning speed. On Aug. 28, oil prices surged 10%, the largest one-day gain in seven years. So, what happens next for oil prices? On the face of it, the crash and massive rebound makes little sense, with many oil market analysts undoubtedly left shaking their heads.
Beyond Compliance: Reducing Major Incidents, Creating Business Value
In the five years since the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, operators have undergone progressively tighter regulatory restrictions in both offshore and onshore environments. Along with restructuring the Department of the Interior to include the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), more than seventeen reforms have been implemented since the 2010 accident, targeting everything from well-design to maintenance reviews to safety culture.
JV Constructing Texas-to-Louisiana Crude Line
Phillips 66, Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners have formed a joint venture to build the Bayou Bridge pipeline that will deliver crude oil from the Phillips 66 and Sunoco Logistics terminals in Nederland, TX to Lake Charles, LA. The venture will also launch an expansion open season for service to the market hub in St. James, LA. Phillips 66 holds a 40% interest in the joint venture and Energy Transfer and Sunoco Logistics each hold a 30% interest. Sunoco Logistics will be the operator of the system.
Reduced offshore share in U.S. oil and natural gas production lowers risk from hurricanes
Offshore energy production in the Gulf of Mexico has experienced relatively minor disruptions because of tropical storms and hurricanes in recent years, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted a below-normal 2015 hurricane season in its updated Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook, released on Aug. 6.
State Says Ohio Oil, Natural Gas Production at Historic High
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources says historic amounts of oil and natural gas are being produced by Ohio shale wells. Statistics released by the department Thursday show more than 10 MMbbls of oil and 405 Bcf of natural gas were produced during the second quarter of the year. The department says those amounts were more than in any previous three-month reporting period. During the same period in 2014, the state's wells produced about 4.4 MMbbls of oil and 156 Bcf of natural gas.
Alaska LNG Reviews Pipeline Route with Government Agencies
<em>Editor’s note: This update, provided by the Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor’s office, is part of an ongoing effort to help keep the public informed about the Alaska LNG project.</em> Alaska is vast, with a lot of open ground, but it seems like transportation projects in the state - be it roads, railroads or pipelines – can’t help but cross over or under each other while traversing the same natural corridors.
Ecuador's President Says Country Now Producing Oil at a Loss
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadoreans are already contending with a rumbling, ash-spewing volcano and rising living costs because they use the appreciating U.S. dollar as their currency. Now they've been told that Ecuador's oil — its principal export and a vital source of government funding — costs more to produce than it earns. President Rafael Correa explained on Tuesday, during a visit to areas threatened by the Cotopaxi volcano, that it costs the OPEC nation $39 to produce a barrel of oil for which it only receives $30.
3 Contract Workers Injured after Pipeline Ruptures in Gulf
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three workers were injured after a natural gas pipeline ruptured in the Gulf of Mexico about 25 miles south of Marsh Island. Petty Officer Ryan Tippets said the rupture caused the pipeline to catch fire. He said the injured crew members were taken to a hospital in Houma, LA with minor injuries. He said the Coast Guard received notification of the rupture at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
- 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
