Technology/R&D
Pipeline Remote Operations: The Human Factor
This article presents a primary justification for an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), the Human Element. Human Factors is a critical component in all safety programs, particularly PHMSA CFR 49 Parts 190-194, Pipeline Safety. It is a relatively new, but mature science and an increasingly mature engineering discipline in the process industries. It is also an area that is often overlooked and not well understood.
Unlocking The Potential Of Unconventional Gas
George Mitchell, former head of Mitchell Energy and Development Corp., is renowned for pioneering drilling and completion technologies that allowed gas to be extracted from shale formations. The geologist and petroleum engineer, known as the father of the Barnett Shale, enabled viable production through the first successful application of horizontal drilling, microseismic imaging, and hydraulic fracturing applied to the Barnett Shale.
PHMSA Pressured to Turn on Pipeline Valves Rulemaking
A Columbia Gas & Transmission Corp. pipeline leak in West Virginia in December has reignited the debate over installation of automatic shutoff valves (ASVs) and remote control valves (RCVs) as a means of quickly limiting the potentially disastrous effects of a pipeline explosion and subsequent fire. The fire in Sissonville destroyed three homes and closed a section of a major highway for 14 hours.
A Pig Tale in Two Parts
People usually laugh when I tell them I chase pigs for a living. But the truth is that it’s very serious business - one which I have been perfecting for more than 25 years. I’ve tracked pigs in all kinds of pipelines, all over the world, and over the years I have seen all kinds of crazy things happen with pigs in pipelines. Probably the most important thing I’ve learned would be to expect the unexpected.
Completing A Challenging Directional Drill In The Marcellus Shale
Your geologists found natural gas hiding thousands of feet underground. Your legal team negotiated rights of way with landowners. Your drilling team went down a mile or so, made a horizontal turn and “fracked” the shale bed, releasing the gas. Your well is producing. So now what?
GTI, Spyglass Plan Platform To Manage Microorganisms In Oil And Gas
Gas Technology Institute and Spyglass Biosecurity, Inc. plan to jointly develop a new portable, automated water laboratory platform for monitoring bio-corrosion and gas souring. The system will provide rapid data about the presence of potentially harmful microorganisms in water used for petroleum resource production. It will also offer other onboard sensing functions to measure the chemical and biological composition of water samples.
Automated Pigging Solutions For Unconventional Plays
According to market studies, all indications are that the importance of the shale gas market is not going to diminish in the foreseeable future. On the contrary, significant growth is projected in many quarters. For example, a 2011 report issued by ICF International on behalf of the INGAA Foundation predicted that total United States and Canada shale gas production will jump from 2010 levels of about 13 Bcf/d to 52 bcf/d by the year 2035.
Measurement Of Roof Topping Effects As An Integral Part Of Routine In-Line Inspection
Caused by improper crimping of the steel sheet in the production process, roof topping is a geometric anomaly that occurs along the longitudinal seam weld of the pipe. These incorrectly crimped sheets then result in a deviation from the perfectly circular geometry of the pipeline. The implications of roof topping for pipeline integrity are severe. They include risk of failure during hydro-testing or fatigue failure during pipeline operation.
Industry Concerned About PHMSA Leak And Valve Studies
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is about to embark on two studies which will be used by Congress to tee up (or not) new safety requirements related to leak detection and automatic and remote controlled shut-off valves (ASV/RCV). But gas transmission, distribution and hazardous liquid pipeline companies and their trade associations are uncomfortable with some of the parameters the PHMSA wants to set. For example, Jeffrey L. Maples, Director, Gas Operations, Paiute Pipeline Company, argues that PHMSA has broadened the two studies to include gas distribution pipelines.
Assessing The Effectiveness Of Pipeline Cleaning Programs
There are over 2 million km of oil and gas production pipelines worldwide and ensuring the effective and efficient flow of products through these pipelines makes a huge difference in revenues generated.
Breakthrough In Inhibitor Science Fights Internal Corrosion
For pipeline owners and operators, efforts to mitigate or control internal corrosion generally fall into one or more of a handful of strategies. Moisture content control seeks to limit the amount of moisture (as measured in grains of water per million cubic feet of product, or by dew point) to eliminate the electrolyte for corrosion cells to develop.
Rock In Colorado Challenges HDD Contractors
When problems threatened a segment of the eight-mile Edwards to Meadow Mountain natural gas pipeline upgrade in Colorado, Fugal Pipeline Project Manager Brady Hansen had to make a decision.
New Lightweight Pig Passage Search And Track Device
Technology moves on but instruments to search, monitor, or record the passage of a pipeline pig have not kept up and are often very short on features and high on price. Some devices simply provide a means to view the strength of a 22-Hz signal and, perhaps, log a low-grade pig passage time.
Completing A Challenging Directional Drill In The Marcellus Shale
Your geologists found natural gas hiding thousands of feet underground. Your legal team negotiated rights of way with landowners. Your drilling team went down a mile or so, made a horizontal turn and “fracked” the shale bed, releasing the gas. Your well is producing. So now what?
Plains All American To Convert LPG Pipeline To Crude Service
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. announced plans to convert an existing Oklahoma LPG pipeline into crude oil service.
HDD Solves Crude Line Replacement Across St. Clair River
Enbridge sprang into action after confirming a minor anomaly on its 30-inch Line 6B crude oil pipeline where it crosses under the St. Clair River spanning from Marysville, MI to St. Clair Township, Ontario.
NTSB faults PG&E and government oversight in San Bruno explosion
On August 30 the five-member National Transportation Safety Board announced that its nearly year-long investigation into the San Bruno pipeline explosion has determined that Pacific Gas & Electric's lax approach to pipeline safety and inadequate oversight from the California utility commission and PHMSA were the ultimate cause of the most devastating pipeline accident in a decade.
Pigging Products and Services Association Buyer's Guide
The Pigging Products and Services Association has compiled the following buyer's guide to illustrate which industry companies provide which products and services. <a href="/sites/pipelineandgasjournal.com/files/PPSA_buyersGuide.pdf">Download the PDF</a> for full information. Note: Inspection companies can generally arrange for the pipeline to be cleaned/prepared prior to inspection.
What Will Valve Industry Look Like In 2025?
Because industrial valves have existed since the dawn of the industrial revolution, the industry can be perceived as mature, traditional and resistant to change. Those of us in the industry know we have played a vital role in global development and evolve dynamically to adapt to industry’s needs. In fact, without innovations from valve suppliers, much of the world’s infrastructure could not exist, and access to essential natural resources would be impossible.
Chemically Assisted Pipeline Cleaning For Pigging Operations
A successful cleaning chemical formulation process for hydrocarbon transportation pipelines has been developed and applied in pipelines in the U.S. Case studies are included in this article.
Advances In ILI Allow Assessing Unpiggable Pipelines
Advances in inline inspection (ILI) tools and other inspection technology today allow for detailed assessment of unpiggable or difficult-to-pig pipelines. In pipe systems considered unpiggable or difficult-to-pig, hydrotesting has been the primary fitness-for-service (FFS) assessment methodology. While regulatory compliance may be achieved by hydrotesting some lines, such testing does not provide a complete picture of the condition of a pipeline.
Ultrasonic Guided Wave System Developed By PetroChina
PetroChina Pipeline Research Center (PPRC) developed the PUGW-1 pipe screening system based on ultrasonic guided wave (UGW) theory during 2005-2009. PRRC is China’s largest research center focusing on oil and gas transmission and storage-related research.
Automatic Multiple Cleaning Pig Launching System Passes Test
A patented automatic multiple pig launching (AMPL) system has been developed and undergone its first commercial use. The system individually launches multiple pigs from a preloaded cassette. The system requires no modification to the existing pipeline launcher because the pig launching process is controlled by a hydraulic system incorporated with the pigs rather than by using complex pipeline on the launcher.
Satellite Notification Service For Pig Tracking, Benchmarking
Doing more with less is a constant drumbeat in the world today. Certainly pig tracking and ILI benchmarking are no different. Now, thanks to CDI’s innovative new LineStat satellite notification service, tracking, locating and benchmarking pigs has taken a high-tech turn that yields faster and more precise information with less manpower.
HDD Instrumental In Bison Project
When TransCanada Corp. opened its new 305-mile, 30-inch Bison Pipeline between the Rockies and the Midwest earlier this year, horizontal directional drilling (HDD) played an important role in its completion.
Two New Web Applications Help Guide Composite Repair Decision-making
Composite pipeline repair technology has been around for more than a decade, representing an affordable and timesaving option for pipe rehabilitation. The introduction of national and international ASME and ISO engineering standards has helped composite repairs gain wider acceptance in the industry as an effective solution for restoration of pipeline integrity and structural strength.
New Pipe Locating Technology Aims To Prevent Unnecessary Excavations And Third-Party Damage
A new technology with the promise to provide accurate location data about buried pipe has been licensed to Sensit Technologies.
Enhanced Pipeline Seam Assessment
The ability to use a single inline inspection (ILI) tool in one run to record multiple datasets is becoming increasingly important to pipeline owners and operators as they face a growing need to inspect their assets for a wide variety of defects.
Overcoming Issues Associated With In-Line Inspection Of Gas Pipelines
Mechanical damage, corrosion and cracking are common threats affecting both liquid and gas pipelines. However, there are significant differences in the manifestations and frequency of these threats depending on the nature of the medium transported.
Report Finds Natural Gas Critical To Smart Energy Future
Natural gas is the key to a smart energy future through its efficient, safe and reliable delivery and its use as an abundant, domestic, affordable, low-carbon energy source for all segments of the economy, according to a white paper released by the Gas Technology Institute and Navigant Consulting.
- Enbridge Plans 86-Mile Pipeline Expansion, Bringing 850 Workers to Northern B.C.
- Intensity, Rainbow Energy to Build 344-Mile Gas Pipeline Across North Dakota
- U.S. Moves to Block Enterprise Products’ Exports to China Over Security Risk
- 208-Mile Mississippi-to-Alabama Gas Pipeline Moves Into FERC Review
- Court Ruling Allows MVP’s $500 Million Southgate Pipeline Extension to Proceed
- U.S. Pipeline Expansion to Add 99 Bcf/d, Mostly for LNG Export, Report Finds
- A Systematic Approach To Ensuring Pipeline Integrity
- 275-Mile Texas-to-Oklahoma Gas Pipeline Enters Open Season
- LNG Canada Start-Up Fails to Lift Gas Prices Amid Supply Glut
- Kinder Morgan Gas Volumes Climb as Power, LNG Demand Boost Pipeline Business
