May 2011, Vol. 238 No. 5

Advertisers from the print edition of Pipeline & Gas Journal, May 2011, Vol. 238 No. 5.

Paul Tyree has been promoted to chief operating officer of Total Safety.

Vectren Corporation acquired Minnesota Limited, Inc. in a strategic move to grow Vectren's infrastructure services business segment. Minnesota Limited will join wholly owned subsidiary Miller Pipeline in Vectren's infrastructure services group.

April was a great month for the oil and gas pipeline industry and I’m going to tell you why. Infrastructure integrity/pipeline safety is the biggest issue to affect our industry in years. Recent highly publicized incidents have led many on the outside to question how safe our industry really is.

In the U.S. and many other countries, shared land use by pipelines and other utilities is common. This trend means the number of overhead high-voltage transmission lines parallel to and sharing a common corridor with underground pipelines has increased, and they all need grounding to prevent interference by alternating current (A/C).

During his lengthy executive career, Carl W. Porter has worked on both sides of the natural gas aisle – as a pipeline operator delivering product to consumers and on the service side providing operating companies with the latest tools designed to make their companies more efficient and ultimately leading to better-served customers.

With its strategic location near the site of some of the nation’s most prolific gas plays – the Barnett and Haynesville shales – Crosstex Energy of Dallas has become a leading players in the midstream natural gas industry, specializing in the gathering, transmission, processing and fractionationof natural gas and natural gas liquids in North Texas and Louisiana.

DCP Midstream, LLC, headquartered in Denver, leads the midstream segment as one of the top three gatherers and processors of natural gas in the U.S. and as the largest natural gas liquids producer and one of the largest NGL marketers in the nation.

REM Directional installed three underground pipelines using the Direct Pipe method for the first time in the United States. First use of the system was in Florida, where REM Directional installed a natural gas pipeline under a highway utilizing the Direct Pipe method.

The Energy Telecommunications and Electrical Association (“ENTELEC”) has formed a new “Regulatory Committee” to address regulatory developments of interest to ENTELEC’s membership throughout the energy industry. All members of ENTELEC – end-users and vendors alike – are invited to join the new committee.

As the unfolding North American saga that is the unconventional resource revolution enters the next phase of what has seemed a fast and furious evolution, many are taking stock; surveying carefully from the current vantage point the ever-spreading opportunity sprawl below.

Since the 2008 discovery of Hawkville Field in south Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale has experienced a tremendous amount of activity. In less than three years, the shale play has become a significant portion of the region’s economy.

The Bakken, one of the best-known oil producing shale plays in North America, is responsible for a renaissance on the Northern Great Plains as oil prices stay above $100 per barrel and significantly increased oil and gas production brings record-breaking levels of wealth and investment into the region.

In this interview, David Scharf, president of ONEOK Natural Gas Gathering & Processing, notes that ONEOK is certainly no stranger to the shale play.

Dallas-based Regency Partners LP seems as though it was destined for success as a midstream operator. Regency owns 5,252 miles of gathering pipeline, eight active midstream-operated treating/processing plants and 790,000 horsepower of third-party revenue-generating compression.

While natural gas may not receive the favorable attention renewable energy sources get in federal energy policy, it continues to prove itself as a clean, dependable and abundant domestic energy source.

Although hydraulic fracturing has been around for decades, the law related to this revolutionary technology is in its infancy and varies from state-to-state. In particular, there are open questions about whether subsurface hydraulic fracturing of a natural gas well that extends into another’s property constitutes a trespass for which the value of gas drained as a result of the fracturing may be recovered as damages and/or injunctive relief.

So far in 2011, TransCanada has been making a lot of news, although some of the notoriety has been unwanted. The large-diameter pipeline operator opened its new 305-mile, 30-inch diameter Bison Pipeline between the Rockies and the Midwest in January, but that milestone was somewhat upstaged by major pipeline incidents on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border that preceded and followed it.

Argentina and Bolivia are building a cross-border pipeline to transport up to 27 MMcf/d of natural gas from Bolivia to the northern Argentine province of Salta. The Argentine section will be 32-km-long, 30 inches in diameter and cost an estimated $US49.7 million; the Bolivian section will be 18-km-long, 32 inches in diameter and cost $US43 million.

New technologies used to squeeze oil and natural gas from tight formations like shale do more than just convert barren areas to large producing reservoirs. Production is the sweet smell of success but is really only a part of the overall transformation. Because of this metamorphosis of turning barren areas into producing locations, the total infrastructure comes into play.

It is still unclear if anything substantive will result from the pipeline safety forum Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood held on April 18. The forum followed a press conference LaHood and PHMSA Administrator Cynthia Quarterman held in Pennsylvania on April 4 where they announced a vague "action plan" meant to respond to a recent series of pipeline explosions, the latest in Allentown, PA in February when a distribution line ignited, killing five people.

On May 5, the Pipeline Transportation Safety Improvement Act exited a markup session in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, making it ready for a vote from the full body.

Constellation Energy has reached an agreement with Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, North America Inc. to provide integrated natural gas services and energy market analysis to Toyota facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP has completed acquisition of midstream assets in the Fayetteville Shale and the Granite Wash plays from Tulsa, OK-based Frontier Gas Services LLC for $338 million.

Speaking before the House of Representatives’ subcommittee on Energy and Power’s hearing regarding “The American Energy Initiative”, Douglas-Westwood LLP’s Managing Director Steve Kopits gave dire warnings about the likely development of China’s future energy demand.

The Office of Federal Coordinator for an Alaska natural gas pipeline has added a new feature to its website: In-depth reports on issues related to the project.

Total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were 6,576 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e) in 2009, a decrease of 5.8% from the 2008 level, according to EIA’s report on Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2009.

Net imports of natural gas have fallen for three consecutive years, due largely to growing domestic production from shale gas formations, reports the federal Energy Information Administration. Between 2007-2010 annual net imports fell by about 1.2 Tcf or nearly one-third.

A new study by Ziff Energy Group reports that Mexico has a large natural gas resource potential, over 60 Tcf, relative to its 8 Bcf/d demand. Mexico gas supply and demand growth rate was historically above 5%. Total supply will grow to 10 Bcf/d in 2020. Figure 1 provides an outlook of Mexico gas supply to 2020.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has provided the final approval necessary for Petrobras America, Inc. to begin oil and natural gas production at its Cascade-Chinook project using a Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) facility.

Denali, the Alaska Gas Pipeline, announced May 17 that its open season efforts have not resulted in the customer commitments necessary to continue work on its Alaska North Slope gas pipeline project, which has an overall estimated capital cost of $35 billion (2009 dollars).

Dril-Quip, Inc. has been awarded a contract by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. to supply drilling equipment for the Big Foot Tension Leg Platform (TLP).

Copano Energy, L.L.C. plans to expand processing facilities at its Houston Central complex, located in Colorado County, in response to producer demand in the Eagle Ford Shale play.

Enbridge Energy Partners has announced plans to invest an additional $175 million to expand its East Texas system.

Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. has entered into long-term fee-based agreements with multiple producers, including Rosetta Resources Operating LP, SM Energy Co., and a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., to provide natural gas gathering, processing, and liquids services from the Eagle Ford Shale.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. plans an 80-mile extension of its 350,000- bpd Eagle Ford Shale crude oil pipeline in southwest Texas enabling it to serve growing production areas in the southwestern portion of the play.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. and Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. plan to form a 50/50 joint venture to design and construct a crude oil pipeline from Cushing, OK to Houston.

Gas infrastructure companies Gasunie (Netherlands) and Fluxys (Belgium) are exploring cross-border cooperation.

Genesis Energy plans to expand its crude oil pipeline and terminal capabilities on the upper Texas Coast and to expand its refinery services operating footprint with a new sour gas processing facility by year-end.

NDT Systems and Services (NDT) was awarded a large number of pipeline inspections from a major oil and gas pipeline operator to assess over 1,300 miles of pipelines for metal loss and stress-related deformations that could result in an unplanned shutdown.

Nicor Inc.’s subsidiary Central Valley Gas Storage L.L.C. has begun the construction phase of its planned natural gas storage facilities located in Colusa County, CA.

ONEOK Partners, L.P. announced plans May 2 to invest approximately $910 million to $1.2 billion between now and late 2013 in order to build a new NGL pipeline, reconfigure two existing pipelines and build a new fractionator.

ONEOK Partners, L.P. plans to invest $910 million to $1.2 billion between now and late 2013 in order to:

Converteam has been selected to supply its C-Series dynamic position (DP) control systems for two platform supply vessels (PSVs) destined for operation in the oil and gas fields of Russia’s northern seas.

Rolls-Royce won a gas compression contract award from PetroChina, the largest oil and gas producer in China.

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline AG and the Bosnian system operator BH-Gas have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation (MOUC) to explore opportunities for developing natural gas markets and enhancing supply diversity in South East Europe (SEE).

The Legend Natural Gas partnerships, composed of Legend Natural Gas II, LP, Legend Natural Gas III, LP and Legend Natural Gas IV, LP, along with their equity sponsor Riverstone Holdings LLC, executred several transactions aimed at increasing reserves and production, improving operational and administrative efficiencies and positioning Legend for future growth.

Valero and Harvest Pipeline plan to build a pipeline to deliver crude oil from the Eagle Ford to Valero’s Three Rivers refinery.

Williams Partners L.P. placed into service two expansions on its Transco natural gas pipeline.

A memorandum of understanding to negotiate German Wintershall’s accession to Gazprom’s South Stream project was signed in Russia.

Henkels & McCoy is one of the of the nation’s largest engineering, network development and construction firms serving the natural gas distribution, communications and pipeline industries. Like many other organizations in the industry, it operates a diverse fleet.

"Our Birmingham team has achieved an incredible accomplishment by maintaining 10 successful years of proactive safety in their work environment," said Merry Brumbaugh, vice president, L.B. Foster Tubular Products. Company representatives said a decade of safe operations at the Alabama plant demonstrates an intense safety awareness encouraged by DuPont's Safety Training Observation Program and promoted with ongoing corporate-wide safety initiatives.