Technology/R&D
AP Investigation: US Power Grid Vulnerable to Foreign Hacks
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyber-attackers had opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid.
Industry Cooperation Key to Improving Infrastructure Pipeline Safety
Several years ago after the collapse of a bridge in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, a cartoon was published showing two people standing on a sidewalk acknowledging the news and bemoaning what else could go wrong. Shown only as can best be done in cartoons, was a mish-mash of pipes underneath their very feet totally out of sight, in various contortions and in varying levels of disrepair and decay.
Steel vs. Plastic Pipe: Some Thoughts to Consider
With oil prices hovering near $50 a barrel for the first time since the crash of 2008, oil and gas producers are watching to see if this is a temporary blip from the $80-100 range or closer to a “new normal” in which prices stay below $60. For some, this price uncertainty has meant scaling back production, exploration and drilling with the looming possibility of halting some activities all together.
Mr. Mayeaux, You Left Your Company in the Right Hands
Justin Harvey knows he has an industrial-sized pair of shoes to fill as he takes the helm at A+ Corporation, a family-owned and operated gas sample conditioning system service company in Gonzales, LA. The 30-year-old Harvey was just a toddler when his legendary grandfather Donald Mayeaux founded the company in 1989. Mayeaux earned his reputation for developing product concepts that changed the manner in which natural gas was sampled.
Ultrasonic Cleaning Technology Helps SoCalGas Achieve Greater Efficiency
High-powered engines require high-powered cleaning to maintain operating efficiency and productivity. One natural gas facility is realizing significant time savings, seeing greater equipment efficiency and extending the life of its 100-year-old equipment, saving millions of dollars in the process.
Why Texans Might Soon Be Driving On Mexican Gasoline
The world is changing fast in the energy industry and for no company is that truer than Mexican National Oil Company Pemex. After decades of bloated operations and mismanagement, Pemex has made major moves to improve its operations and attract foreign investors to the Mexican energy sector. This is a major piece of the current administration’s plan to modernize and improve the efficiency of the state-dominated oil sector and simultaneously give a much needed boost to the Mexican economy. Unfortunately oil markets are not cooperating.
APGA Determined to Have Its Voice Heard on Capitol Hill
Leading a natural gas distribution company is always a challenge because there are few businesses that deal so directly with their customer base, be it residential, commercial or industrial, as well as safety regulators, equipment and service providers, not to mention the city council or utility board that approves rates.
EPA Proposes New Methane Regulations for Midstream Operations
The federal Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed new regulations for methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the oil and gas sector that place time-consuming and expensive new requirements on midstream businesses. These regulations would not apply to pipelines, but would require ongoing emissions monitoring and equipment replacements at compressor stations and natural gas processing plants built, “modified,” or “reconstructed” after Sept. 18, 2015.
Xodus, TNO Enter Phase 2 of Multiphase Flow Research
International energy consultancy Xodus Group and the Dutch company TNO have completed the first phase of a pioneering joint industry project (JIP) into the dynamic forces that affect the integrity of piping systems, in particular through multiphase flow. The second phase of the project, which is expected to be run across three stages, is now open for new participants to join.
Cured-in-Place Liner Research Demonstrates Long-Term Viability
<strong></strong>Cured-in-place liners (CIPL) have been installed on cast-iron and steel pipelines in natural gas distribution systems in Europe, Japan and North America over the last few decades. CIPL have been used because of their rehabilitative and renewal qualities in contrast to the higher costs, construction risks and public inconvenience associated with conventional pipeline replacement methods, particularly in congested and difficult to access areas such as river and road crossings or urban areas.
Dresser-Rand Shows Combined Solutions with Siemens at Gastech 2015
At the Gastech Conference and Exhibition 2015 held Oct. 27-30 in Singapore, Dresser-Rand displayed how its combined solutions with Siemens offers clients what it says are the oil and gas industry’s most extensive portfolio of rotating equipment, including the launch of the new RB211-GT30 gas turbine.
What's New: December 2015
<p><strong>Inline Services</strong></p> <p>Inline’s polyurethane spheres are ideal for removing liquids from wet gas systems, product separation, hydrostatic line testing and wax control in crude oil pipelines. Our spheres are manufactured of high quality polyurethane for lasting service in the worst conditions. Inflatable spheres, 12-inch and larger are designed with two filling holes to ensure complete removal of the air inside the sphere. Spheres can also be manufactured out of medium and hard-density foam, coated in various polyurethane coatings and even equipped with brushes. www.inlineservices.com</p>
Improving Lost and Unaccounted for Levels by Embracing Innovation
Across many industries, companies showing a reluctance to embrace new technology are in danger of losing any competitive edge. In the oil and gas industry, where even the smallest error can have a major long-term effect, embracing innovation in the form of data analytics has become a necessity for companies striving to reach the highest levels.
Paris Climate Talks Point to Boon for Energy Storage
As the world leaders come together in Paris to tackle the hot issue of climate change, there is one market that not only remains crucial for growth of renewable energy sources; but also remains the most talked about market in the global investment circles: the energy storage market.
Michels Sets North American HDD Record on Northern Courier Pipeline
Michels used horizontal directional drilling (HDD) beneath the Athabasca River on Nov. 21 to complete a company record 1.36-mile installation – the longest in North America for a 42-inch pipe. The 7,200-foot crossing is located near Fort MacKay, Alberta, about one hour north of Fort McMurray. The crossing, part of the TCPL Northern Courier Pipeline Project, involved installing a 42-inch casing pipe with six HDDs and one Direct Pipe™.
Oil and Gas Research Eyeing Future, Bridging Gaps
In the gridlock of first-quarter 2015 earnings conference calls last spring, Doug Suttles, CEO at Alberta-based Encana Corp., talked bullishly about the Canadian energy company’s production growth prospects. This while in the midst of reporting a $1.7 billion loss for the quarter tied to a $1.2 billion impairment charge brought on by last year’s global oil price crash and another $500 million of red ink coming from a foreign exchange loss. Regardless, Suttles couldn’t have been more upbeat when he talked to analysts in mid-May.
EPA Boosts Amount of Ethanol in Gasoline Supply
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is boosting the amount of corn-based ethanol and other renewable fuels in the U.S. gasoline supply despite sustained opposition by an unusual alliance of oil companies, environmentalists and some GOP presidential candidates. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Monday issued a final rule designed to increase production of ethanol to be blended with gasoline through 2016, a decision that could reverberate in Iowa's crucial presidential caucuses.
Enlink Midstream Gains Full Ownership of Permian Basin Processing Plant
EnLink Midstream Partners announced its subsidiary has acquired full ownership in the Deadwood natural gas processing facility with the acquisition of an Apache Corporation subsidiary's 50% ownership interest. The facility is located in Glasscock County in the Texas Permian Basin and comes at an accretive cost of about $40 million. Pursuant to a 2011 agreement, EnLink and Apache jointly funded the development of a newly build processing facility in which each company held a 50% undivided ownership interest.
UTEC Completes Challenging Project in Cook Inlet
UTEC Survey was recently hired to provide a positioning solution for the installation of a monopod liquid natural gas platform and 30-km, 10-inch LNG pipeline for a major operation located in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. Twenty-four field personnel were mobilized and engaged with Coda Octopus Products for use of their Echoscope technology to provide positioning and survey services for five vessels.
Mastering Inspection of Challenging Pipelines
Any inspection device used internally must be introduced into the pipeline to be investigated. This implies that the line is accessible. “Piggable” lines need suitable launchers and receivers and are generally inspected in a unidirectional mode. If tool traps are not available or suitable, access has to be achieved via other means. Accessibility can be achieved through technical and/or procedural means.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- Trump Aims to Revive 1,200-Mile Keystone XL Pipeline Despite Major Challenges
- Valero Considers All Options, Including Sale, for California Refineries Amid Regulatory Pressure
- ConocoPhillips Eyes Sale of $1 Billion Permian Assets Amid Marathon Acquisition
- ONEOK Agrees to Sell Interstate Gas Pipelines to DT Midstream for $1.2 Billion
- Energy Transfer Reaches FID on $2.7 Billion, 2.2 Bcf/d Permian Pipeline
- U.S. LNG Export Growth Faces Uncertainty as Trump’s Tariff Proposal Looms, Analysts Say
- Tullow Oil on Track to Deliver $600 Million Free Cash Flow Over Next 2 Years
- Energy Transfer Reaches FID on $2.7 Billion, 2.2 Bcf/d Permian Pipeline
- GOP Lawmakers Slam New York for Blocking $500 Million Pipeline Project
- Texas Oil Company Challenges $250 Million Insurance Collateral Demand for Pipeline, Offshore Operations
