September 2010 Vol. 237 No. 9

Gas Technology Institute (GTI) and Zeus Development Corporation have published the fifth edition of the World LNG Source Book, the most comprehensive report on global LNG facilities. This resource provides detailed information on more than 125 LNG baseload export and import terminals worldwide, including those that are operating and under construction.

The Lincoln Electric Welding School offers classes in arc welding taught by seven full-time instructors with more than 100 years of combined industry experience. Courses are designed to teach the arc welding skills that employers need.

MESA, a leading supplier of cathodic protection systems and pipeline integrity solutions to the oil and natural gas industry, has named Sarfraz Shaikh as their Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist.

Advertisers in the print edition of Pipeline & Gas Journal, September 2010, Volume 237 No. 9.

As Janet and I prepare for our annual vacation to the Poconos in northeastern Pennsylvania, there is one big question that I’m sure our friends will ask: is BP representative of the petroleum industry? The answer is “no”. To prove that, I need only point to a front-page story on Aug. 12: “BP To Pay Record Fine Of $50 Million For Texas Accident.”

As the nation’s interstate natural gas pipeline system has grown, so too has the need for continuous improvement by industry, notably in the areas of pipe manufacturing, quality control, and pipeline construction and operation.

The increased global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is having a significant impact on companies that both produce and supply equipment to this market, resulting in rapid advances in machine design, capacity and efficiency. In the LNG process, natural gas is converted to liquid form, making the gas easier to store and transport. When the LNG is needed for use, it is regasified and distributed as pipeline natural gas.

Oil production generally involves the processing of upstream fluids into a crude oil that meets certain specifications. This is typically done at a field processing facility and involves a number of operations in different processing systems within the facility. One primary function of this processing is “phase separation” to remove water, solids and gas from the produced fluid, thereby producing crude oil that meets the specifications and provides the main source of income for the operator.

As a result of the aging of the pipeline network and corrosion and damage activities, there is an increasing trend of gas leakage complaints on the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) gas distribution system in Pakistan. Thus, the percentage of unaccounted for natural gas (UFG) is continuously rising. Spotting and managing gas leaks are important in this era in Pakistan.

Geospatial information system (GIS) technology is a shared network model and detailed asset repository that plays a major role in helping utilities create systems that meet the growing and changing needs of customers. Instead of viewing company information in a one-level perspective of data points and symbol numbers, GIS allows energy companies to view information in advanced geographical maps, providing a more holistic and graphical view of infrastructure and assets.

Five years have passed since the monster named Katrina wreaked unprecedented destruction and death upon the grand old city of New Orleans. A worldwide audience watched transfixed by horrific images of misery, destruction and death. Those who rushed in to provide emergency aid were left speechless by the scenes that greeted them.

During field hydrostatic tests on some new U.S. pipelines constructed during 2007 and 2008, a small number of pipe joints were detected that had expanded well beyond the dimensional tolerance limits of the pipe manufacturing specification (API Specification 5L).

Construction on TransCanada Corporation’s long-distance, large-diameter C$5.2 billion Keystone crude oil pipeline reaching from Canada’s Alberta oil fields to markets in the U.S. Midwest is grinding to completion after more than two years of intensive construction activity.

These days in the Oil Patch, it takes a combination of brains, experience and an uncanny ability to match risks with rewards to be successful. It also helps if you earn yourself a special niche for quality of service. And that is what Greene’s Energy Group has quietly but effectively accomplished since it began operations in 1953: Formed by H. Rowe Greene, Sr. as a spin-off from Halliburton, Greene’s specialized in testing blowout preventers used in drilling.

Natural gas – the second-largest source of fuel in the U.S., stands at a strategic crossroad! At the turn of the century, it was enthusiastically ballyhooed as the “bridge fuel” of the century – it would be the major source of cleaner fuel until economic, efficient forms of “green” energy were developed!

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced Sept. 17 plans to change its organizational structure. The reorganization, effective October 1, 2010, will align the organizational structure with the agency's primary functional areas: statistics, analysis, communication, and management. It also will streamline EIA by reducing the number of organizations reporting directly to the EIA Administrator from eight to four, headed by Assistant Administrators.

The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act passed by the U.S. Senate Sept. 16 will extend the 50 percent bonus depreciation deduction for 2010. Additionally, it includes approximately $12 billion in tax relief for small businesses and a $30 billion lending fund that will be administered by the Treasury Department.

A $7 billion project labor agreement (PLA) was signed September 14 between the United Association and TransCanada Corporation to begin construction on the Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Pipeline (Keystone XL).

Abu Dhabi's investment fund IPIC is considering taking a stake in the planned Nabucco pipeline that is supposed to deliver gas from the Caspian region to Europe, according to reports.

AGL Resources announced Sept. 16 that the first natural gas storage cavern at its Golden Triangle Storage facility near Beaumont, Texas, has entered initial commercial operations. GTS anticipates commencement of full commercial service for approximately 6 billion cubic feet of working gas capacity upon completion of dewatering in December.

Atlas Pipeline Partners, L.P. announced Sept. 17 that it has completed the sale of its Elk City system to Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P for $686.1 million in cash, including a positive working capital adjustment.

Bulgaria will repay its 4.88 million euro debt for the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline construction.

The European gas market might witness a significant transition if shale gas is developed successfully in the next two to three years.

The FERC has approved Florida Gas Transmission Company (FGT) and Williams Partners’ proposal to connect the existing FGT and Transco natural gas pipeline systems with the Gulf LNG Clean Energy import terminal being developed near Pascagoula, MS.

Foster Wheeler's Global Engineering and Construction Group won a project management consultancy services contract from South Oil Company (SOC) for the Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project.

GE South Africa Technologies (GESAT) will provide Transnet with 10 medium speed, diesel-powered generators for a new 70-km, multi product pipeline to transport refined products from Durban to Johannesburg.

Koch Pipeline Company, L.P. and Arrowhead Pipeline, L.P. have announced an agreement and joint tariff to increase the amount of Eagle Ford crude transported to Corpus Christi via the Arrowhead pipeline.

Koch Pipeline Company, L.P. and Arrowhead Pipeline, L.P. have announced an agreement and joint tariff to increase the amount of Eagle Ford crude transported to Corpus Christi via the Arrowhead pipeline.

Koch Pipeline Company, L.P. and Arrowhead Pipeline, L.P. have announced an agreement and joint tariff to increase the amount of Eagle Ford crude transported to Corpus Christi via the Arrowhead pipeline.

Russia has suffered several setbacks in its ongoing efforts to secure its energy dominance in Central Asia. Uzbekistan plans to build a 530-km natural gas pipeline to China.

Williams Partners L.P. announced Northwest Pipeline GP is launching an open season to seek interest from shippers to participate in its Opal Market Link project.

NOVA Chemicals has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hess and Mistral to purchase and transport ethane production from Hess' Tioga Gas Plant in North Dakota via a proposed pipeline to Alberta, Canada.

Officials with ONEOK Partners L.P. plan to spend $595-730 million to build NGL projects between now and 2013. Some $450 to $550 million will be used to build a 525-615-mile NGL pipeline that will transport 60,000 bpd of unfractionated NGLs from the Bakken Shale south through western North Dakota.

Orca Exploration has created an infrastructure division to help build a natural gas pipeline network in east Africa.

Petrobras' LNG regasification project was singled out by the KPMG think tank as an infrastructure highlight in the world.

Regency Energy Partners LP sold its east Texas gathering and processing assets to an affiliate of Tristream Energy LLC for $70 million. Regency intends to use the proceeds to fund future growth opportunities.

El Paso Corporation’s Ruby Pipeline Project has received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval to proceed and begin construction.

What do you get when you take an oil patch roughneck who has participated in the drilling of two dry holes, give him the talent and conviction that qualifies him to serve as a teacher and a lay minister in his local church and then train him as a microeconomist to the Ph.D. level?

Dresser Waukesha has introduced 12-cylinder and 16-cylinder versions of its 275GL Series engine. The 16V275GL+ high-performance engine (16 cylinders) was rolled out in April and its sister 12-cylinder version was unveiled in late July. Both are for gas compression applications and are said to offer class-leading power and low emissions levels.

In September's issue, P&GJ will look at the aftermath of Katrina and the people who helped New Orleans recover with an interview with Rod West, CAO of Entergy Corporation. We'll also have a look at the Keystone Pipeline, gas management, oil production, seals and GIS. Plus, the INGAA Foundation's study on pipe joint quality--and much more!

In an accident at around 10 AM Sept. 2, parts of an oil and gas production rig exploded and caught fire 80 miles off the Louisiana coast, approximately 250 miles away from the Deepwater Horizon well that spilled crude into Gulf waters for much of the summer. Thirteen workers were on the rig at the time, and all have been rescued, although at least one is reported injured. UPDATE: As of 24 hours after the accident, reports of sheen on the water are being retracted. Mariner reports that automatic shutoff controls stopped the flow of oil and gas before the fire broke out.

Descriptions and details of new products offered from Burckhardt Compression, Bishop Lifting Products, TechCorr, Sick Maihak, Inc., CRC-Evans, Flowserve, Lincoln Electric, R&M Energy Systems, BFX Equity Partners, Dresser Pipeline Solutions, Hammersmith Mfg., Flow Management Devices, American Public Gas Association, Sullair Corporation and Huntingdon Fusion Techniques.

New products from Maine Drilling & Blasting, American Innovations, Telogis, Fisher and Arnold, Inc., Emerson Process Management, Honeywell, Synodon Inc., Inmarsat, Tritech and Chesapeake Tech, GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies, WIT Press, Itron Inc., Coastal Flow Measurement and Globalstar, Inc..