November 2011, Vol. 238 No. 11

CNOOC Ltd., one of China's three main state-owned oil and gas producers, has agreed to buy Canadian oil sands producer OPTI Canada Inc. for $2.1 billion.

Laurie F. Markoe, president and chief executive officer of Contract Land Staff, LLC, a land management and right of way consulting firm, was elected chairman of The INGAA Foundation Inc. at the Foundation’s annual meeting in San Diego November 12.

Advertisers from the print issue of Pipeline & Gas Journal, November 2011, Vol. 238 No. 11.

I never thought the Keystone XL Pipeline project would be the climactic event in the environment vs. energy debate. Now as we approach the final decision, which rests in President Obama’s hands, I’ll bet that he never expected a proposed pipeline would be one of the defining moments of his administration.

Karl Trauner, outgoing president of the International Pipeline and Offshore Contractors Association (IPLOCA) and Managing Director of HABAU, welcomed more thanr 600 delegates to Beijing, for the 45th annual convention. This first IPLOCA convention to be held in China was an opportunity to develop business relationships not only with other members but with clients and partners in the region. Participants were also invited to attend the China International Pipeline Expo which followed the convention.

We are seeing accelerating interest in the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a vehicle fuel in the U.S. This is being spurred by developments including 1) new methods of drilling that have greatly increased gas reserves and 2) by environmental pressure to reduce greenhouse gases. The purpose of this article is to acquaint potential CNG station developers with some of the issues to be dealt with and to provide an overall understanding of the workings of the station.

One of America’s energy pioneers celebrates its 40th anniversary this fall. Explorer Pipeline, which stretches from Lake Charles, LA to just outside of Chicago, shipped its first product on Oct. 25, 1971.

With the rapid growth of shale gas and burgeoning interest in renewable gas production, today’s natural gas system operators are facing the need to compare the composition of these new supply sources with historical supplies prior to acceptance into their systems.

When flowmeters are used to measure flow, they measure one of a number of fluid types. One common way to divide up fluid types is between liquid, gas and steam. These types can be further subdivided. Types of liquid include oil, water and industrial liquids.

Globally, mankind has more than 1,500,000 km of oil and gas pipelines – with more than 600,000 km in North America alone. These numbers are even higher when one adds pipelines transporting other hazardous gases and liquids. Though efficient and critical, these pipelines carry high costs for individual safety incidents. Around the world, pipeline safety and security are immediate concerns, both for industry and government.

Deep water ahead? The outlook for the oil and gas industry in 2011 is an Economist Intelligence Unit report that aims to provide a barometer for the industry from the point of view of top-level operators, including CEOs and other board-level executives and policymakers. The report is sponsored by GL Noble Denton.

Pipeline & Gas Journal’s 31st Annual 500 Report is the industry’s most detailed statistical listing of the nation’s energy pipeline systems. As in past years, the report ranks the nation’s top liquids, gas transmission and gas distribution systems. Gas transmission companies are ranked by total miles of pipe while the rank of each liquids pipeline company is determined by yearly crude deliveries.

While its estimated petroleum reserves are on the rise, Iraq’s output is not quite meeting national production targets. Looking to boost production and achieve accurate measurements, the country’s leading officials have moved to upgrade oilfield installations damaged by conflict and lack of investment, as well as establish comprehensive guidelines for the accurate measurement and automation of hydrocarbon production.

Two House committees are attempting to combine slightly different pipeline safety bills while Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is preventing a Senate vote on a bill passed by the Commerce Committee in May. All three bills are moderate, and make changes around the edges of current law, both with regard to natural gas and oil pipelines.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. has signed a consent agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration that resolves the notice of proposed safety order PHMSA issued Feb. 1.

PwC US has released a new report entitled, “Eye of the Storm,” which provides findings on information security for the oil and gas industry, based on survey responses from 143 senior industry executives. PwC found that despite data exploitation being up across the board, executives remain confident in their security practices as they have a set strategy in place.

GE said it is investing more than $10 million to expand its Inspection Technologies headquarters site in Lewistown, PA. Key features of the expansion project include a new global customer applications center as well as a nondestructive testing (NDT) academy for GE employees and customers.

"Green completions." That appears to be a new watchword growing out of the shale gas boom. The issue of green completions came up Oct. 4 when members of President Obama's shale gas subcommittee went before the Senate Energy Committee.

U.S. oil production in areas including West Texas' Permian Basin, South Texas' Eagle Ford shale, and North Dakota's Bakken shale will record a rise of a little over 2 million bpd from 2010-16, according to data compiled by Bentek Energy.

A Pennsylvania regulation became law in August that will help prevent the discharge of incompletely treated frac water from natural gas drilling into area rivers. Altela Inc., a water treatment company based in Albuquerque, NM, has begun implementation of the solution to the frac water problem at a plant in Williamsport by treating 100,000 gallons a day of frac water to better than drinking water standards.

Sumitomo Corporation announced that it has acquired a 19.47% interest in V&M TWO LLC, a manufacturer of small-diameter seamless steel pipe based in Ohio, from Vallourec S.A. of Paris, France.

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has received a $9.9 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy to design and test carbon dioxide compression using technologies developed under previous DOE phases of the improved compression technologies program.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP and Southwestern Energy Co. said their subsidiaries, Boardwalk Field Services, LLC and Southwestern Energy Production Co., have executed a 15-year definitive gas gathering agreement which will require construction of a natural gas gathering system in Susquehanna and Lackawanna counties, PA.

The Consortium operating Block BM-S-11, formed by Petrobras (65% - operator) in partnership with BG Group (25%) and Petrogal Brasil S.A. - Galp Energia (10%), has opened up the Lula-Mexilhão gas pipeline.

Colonial Pipeline announced a capacity expansion in Virginia that can increase deliveries to the Tidewater area by 24,000 bpd.

As DCP Midstream continues move toward closing on the acquisition of the Seaway Products Pipeline Company, it announced a request for binding expressions of interest in the proposed Southern Hills Pipeline.

Richmond, Va.-based Dominion Resources Inc. has applied to the Department of Energy to allow 1 Bcf/d to be exported through its Dominion Cove Point terminal in Maryland. The application seeks permission to exports LNG to any country with which the U.S. does not prohibit trade.

El Paso has placed its 1,100-mile Marcellus Ethane Pipeline project on hold after lackluster interest from producers.

Enterprise Products Partners announced several new construction projects that will extend and expand its natural gas and NGL infrastructure in South Texas to accommodate expected production growth from the Eagle Ford shale play.

Government, political and industry leaders from around Europe gathered at Lubmin on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast Nov. 8 to celebrate the arrival of gas through the Nord Stream Pipeline.

Explorer Pipeline Company plans to build a 24-inch diluent pipeline extension from its existing Peotone Station, which is located on its 24-inch mainline between Wood River, IL and Hammond, IN, in order to allow shippers to transport diluent directly from Explorer to the Enbridge Southern Lights pipeline origin at Manhattan, IL.

Heerema Fabrication Group (HFG) recently completed construction of the minimum facilities platforms for the Clipper South Development and the Breagh Alpha Development. Both EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contracts were awarded by RWE Dea UK.

TransCanada has selected Michels Corporation, Price Gregory Services (an operating unit of Quanta Services) and Sheehan Pipeline Construction Company to form a joint venture construction company that will build 1,179 miles of pipeline and related infrastructure from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Neb., if the proposed TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline project receives final approval.

TransCanada Corp. has selected Quanta Services-owned Price Gregory Services to be part of MPS Constructors, a joint venture made up of Michels Corp., Price Gregory Services and Sheehan Pipe Line Construction, that will build the 1,179-mile section of Keystone XL between Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, NB, and related infrastructure that are part of the project.

Oceaneering Umbilical Solutions has opened its $2 million TQR (Test, Qualification and Reliability) laboratory in Fife, Scotland to evaluate and assimilate the long-term behaviour of deepwater umbilical cables.

Along with a new $224 billion five-year plan focusing on Brazil’s development of recently discovered offshore, subsalt reserves, Petrobras announced it has regulatory approval to build a 140-km pipeline in Amazonas state.

Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) awarded a contract for line pipes worth more than $49 million to S.C.C. Nigeria Ltd., in one of the biggest efforts by an IOC to encourage in-country manufacture of the key pipeline-making material.

Ziff Energy recently completed the 8th edition of its Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Improving Field Performance (IFP) study, which evaluates 2010 operations for 36 deepwater-producing assets in the Gulf of Mexico.

Breitling Oil and Gas Corp. was founded in Irving, TX in October 2004 as an independent exploration company willing to invest in state-of-the-art petroleum development throughout the United States, in particular Texas and Oklahoma.

GE has announced its latest contribution to natural gas-driven power generation in the FlexAero* LM6000-PH, a highly efficient 50-megawatt (MW) gas turbine.

For the past 30 years, AnchorPipe has designed and installed over 100,000 screw anchors and ScrewPiles to permanently stabilize new and existing pipelines. In the past two years, the firm says it has seen a variety of applications for screw anchors and ScrewPiles from buoyancy control in flood prone areas, lowering pipelines to their original elevation, supporting pipelines over onshore creeks and offshore risers, and in storm current (lateral load) protection.

New products from Lincoln Electric, Phoenix Contact, R&M Energy Systems, TD Williamson, Dyna Torque-Numax, Brice Tool & Stamping and more.