November 2014, Vol. 241, No. 11

Advertisers from the print edition of Pipeline & Gas Journal, November 2014, Vol. 241, No. 11.

Fact No. 1: China has cornered the market on solar power panels. Fact No. 2: Indonesia has cornered the market on wind turbine parts. Fact No. 3: Natural gas, and to a growing extent crude oil, are American-made products. Fact No. 4: Natural gas and crude oil are fueling an industrial renaissance in the United States. I can keep on going but unless you’ve been living in a cave somewhere you know by now that the U.S. is undergoing a major transformation of its industrial and manufacturing base thanks to abundant, cheap and most importantly, reliable supplies of natural gas and crude oil. There remain several important issues still to be resolved such as LNG and crude oil exports, fracking disclosures, emissions controls and improved safety standards for transporters.

Access Midstream has identified a need for a broad-spectrum risk model for its pipeline assets. This business need extends beyond the requirements mandated by the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) and state regulatory agencies.

Devon Energy Corp., headquartered in Oklahoma City, is a major player in the oil and gas industry with an enterprise value near $40 billion. Devon has grown to become one of the nation’s largest independent oil and natural gas producers following a series of acquisitions of other independents such as Hondo Oil & Gas, Kerr-McGee's North American onshore oil and gas properties, Northstar Energy Corp., PennzEnergy, Anderson Exploration Ltd., Mitchell Energy & Development Corp. and Chief Holdings LLC. The company focuses on onshore development primarily in the U.S. Southwest and the Athabasca oil sands in northeast Alberta, producing 168.3 Mbpd of oil and 1.6 Bcf/d of natural gas in 2013.

May Va Lor is soft spoken and petite, but she can summon a lot of muscle when needed. Va Lor, a labor energy research expert, can turn on the same strength that has built the Alaskan oil and Rockies Express natural gas pipelines. She is equally adept at exercising that strength in the public policy corridors in Congress and state or local government chambers across North America. She is an excellent storyteller, it turns out.

Extensive planning and coordination are involved in routing a pipeline. Many factors must be addressed in planning a route that incorporates landowner considerations, environmental factors and constructability issues.

The six world powers - China, France, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany - are continuing efforts to persuade a reluctant Iran to scale back its nuclear program with hopes the long-time standoff can be settled.

The decision of the Mexican government to reform its vaunted energy industry is one of the most important development in the energy sector since the shale revolution, at least for companies in North America. The focal point of Mexico’s energy industry has been Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the state-owned oil company that until just a few years ago ranked as one of the world’s top crude oil producers.

Discoveries of large domestic reserves of oil and gas are leading to our energy independence in North America. In order to attain this independence, the need for an efficient, modern, safe and expanded pipeline system becomes ever more evident. But the pace at which the infrastructure technically matures depends upon two key complications being resolved. The first is a matter of funding for the investment, which is an industry-wide challenge, and the second is having a plan or roadmap - that is an enterprise-by-enterprise activity.

China’s domestic natural gas production is expected to rise from 120 Bcm to 172 Bcm in 2018. In parallel, the nation is pressing ahead with drilling for unconventional gas and expects to reach its target output of 30 Bcm in 2020.

A study has pinpointed the likely source of most natural gas contamination in drinking-water wells associated with hydraulic fracturing, and it’s not the source many people may have feared. What’s more, the problem may be fixable: improved construction standards for cement well linings and casings at hydraulic fracturing sites.

According to a new report by CEDIGAZ, the International Center for Natural Gas Information, LNG as a fuel will capture a significant market share in the transport sector by 2035.

Popular opinion about fossil fuels can be summarized in one word: addiction. The industry’s attackers have successfully portrayed its core product, fossil fuel energy, as a self-destructive addiction that is destroying our planet, and your industry as a fundamentally immoral industry.

Pipeline & Gas Journal’s 34th Annual 500 Report provides the industry’s most inclusive statistical review of U.S. energy pipeline systems. Once again, the report ranks the nation’s top gas distribution, liquids and gas transmission systems. The gas distribution rankings are based on number of customers, while transmission companies are ranked by mileage. Each liquids pipeline company ranking is based on yearly crude deliveries.

In some ways UGI Utilities is fortunate to be so far ahead of the game when it comes to infrastructure replacement. The natural gas distributor, which serves 600,000 customers in 45 eastern and central Pennsylvania counties and one county in Maryland, has about 86% of its 12,000 miles of pipeline already constructed of contemporary materials.

Booming U.S. crude oil production, especially in areas that were not already big producing locations with good takeaway pipeline capacity, have made it necessary to find new ways of transporting the growing production coming from development of shale reservoirs.

One top federal pipeline regulator left her job and a prominent state regulator is coming to Washington to fill a second high-profile pipeline job. Cynthia Quarterman left as administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Oct. 3. No replacement has been named. Meanwhile, the White House nominated Colette Honorable as a commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). When confirmed, which is likely, she would probably be appointed chairman. Honorable is chair of the Public Service Commission in Arkansas.

Spectra Energy and Northeast Utilities plan a $3 billion expansion project for the Algonquin and Maritimes pipelines to provide an additional 1 Bcf/d of natural gas to New England power plants and meet rising demand from heating customers.

Vector Pipeline L.P. and Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership held a binding open season Oct. 6 through Nov. 4 to secure shipper interest in a third expansion of the Vector Pipeline System.

Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. and Occidental Petroleum Corp. report that the BridgeTex Pipeline began commercial service in September, delivering crude oil from West Texas to the Houston Gulf Coast area.

Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest utility, completed the 24-mile Southwest Michigan 1200B Pipeline project.

Dominion notified the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that it has accepted the commission's order approving the Cove Point LNG liquefaction and export project and all of FERC's environmental conditions.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. completed the first segment of the Aegis Pipeline between Mont Belvieu and Beaumont and is ready to make ethane deliveries to petrochemical customers.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. plans to construct a cryogenic natural gas processing plant in Eddy County, NM and associated natural gas and NGL pipeline infrastructure to facilitate growing production of NGL-rich natural gas in the Delaware Basin. These assets are expected to begin operations in early 2016.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. completed an extended binding open season on Oct. 30 for commitments for the proposed Palmetto Project which offers shippers a new refined products service to move gasoline, diesel and ethanol from Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina to South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Stabilis Energy and Flint Hills Resources announced plans for their joint venture to acquire property in Odessa, TX for construction of a second planned LNG facility.

After completing an open season in support of the Big Spring Gateway (BSG) System, Navigator Energy Services, LLC is expected to start service during the second half of 2015. The BSG System will include 125 miles of crude oil transportation pipelines and truck injection stations located in Martin, Howard and Glasscock counties in Texas, along with 200,000 bbls of operational storage.

NGL Energy is planning a crude oil transloading facility to handle unit trains west of Albuquerque, NM in the San Juan Basin.

NGL Energy Partners and Rimrock Midstream held a successful open season for the Grand Mesa Pipeline originating in Weld County, CO and terminating at NGL’s Cushing, OK terminal. Based on long-term binding agreements with multiple shippers, GMP has more than the requisite support to construct the pipeline system to accommodate the committed volumes. Pipeline operations are anticipated to start service in 2016.

Saddle Butte Rockies Midstream, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saddle Butte Pipeline II, LLC, held a biding open season ending on Oct. 29 for the Rockies South Pipeline, a new interstate pipeline designed to transport multiple grades of crude oil and condensate produced in the Denver-Julesburg Basin to points in Cushing, OK.

Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP reports that the Tallgrass Pony Express Pipeline, LLC crude oil pipeline project is complete and in commercial service.

Dresser-Rand Group recently carried out a noise test for the largest pipe resonator array ever produced. Conducted on a 30-inch pipe, it was intended to confirm the estimated noise attenuation on a compressor operated by Norwegian-based Statoil.

GE Power & Water’s Distributed Power business has shipped its 33,000th gas engine since first production 90 years ago. The milestone was celebrated Oct. 8 in conjunction with the High Horsepower Summit in New Orleans.

Opvantek’s decision support software (Optimain® DS) is used to assess risk and prioritize replacement in many of the nation’s largest and oldest gas distribution systems, accounting for over 25% of the total U.S. distribution mileage. In continuous development for over 20 years, Optimain® DS has algorithms for evaluating risk across diverse and complex piping systems and environments, comprising every piping technology in use since the early 1900s.

No one questions the need for utility companies to adopt a feasible, cost-effective solution for North America’s aging infrastructure. A recent study by USA Today points out that the consequence of mismanaging and ignoring the state of pipelines is nothing short of embarrassingly disastrous.

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