August 2019, Vol. 246, No. 8

Trying to convey a consistent and impactful safety message often presents a challenge for big companies. LyondellBasell recently marked their 10th anniversary of Global Safety Day, an annual event that involves every office, manufacturing site and research center around the world. Global Safety Day focuses attention on safety issues, including subjects not usually part of the work day conversation, such as identity theft prevention, grilling safety, mental health and even yoga.

In this interview, Greenfield, who has nearly 40 years’ experience in the protective coatings and corrosion industry and has served on various NACE committees, discusses the urgency of attracting younger professionals to the industry, the need to communicate financial ideas more clearly and his own excitement at the possibilities of NACE International and the Society for Protective Coating (SSPC) joining forces in some capacity.

The former president and CEO of the Colorado Gas & Oil Association (COGA) sits down with P&GJ’s Editor Joe Hollier and shares her experiences heading the Association and the details of her new book, “Accidentally Adamant.”

Over the past decade, the primary U.S. crude benchmark, WTI, diverged considerably from its foreign counterpart, Brent, sometimes selling at a steep discount. Some studies pointed to the ban on exporting U.S. crude oil production as the main culprit for this divergence.

The pipeline industry is working with an aging infrastructure, with about two-thirds of existing U.S. pipelines constructed before the 1980s. This creates unique challenges for analysis and decision making with the pipeline asset data.

Global demand for natural gas and the infrastructure necessary to deliver it is set to keep growing over the next five years, with ongoing increases in demand across underdeveloped Asian economies and the continued development of international gas trade.

Offshore pipelines are often challenging for pigging and inspection. Riser pipes are vulnerable and critical for the asset-owners, especially in the splash zone. Some pipelines end at a manifold (PLEM) or a buoy for loading ships. Sometimes wye-pieces are constructed in the line or different diameters occur.

High-velocity natural gas pipelines pose a challenge to effective cleaning for corrosion mitigation purposes, maintaining throughput efficiency and pre-inline inspection (ILI) cleaning runs.

Illegal tapping and product theft are an increasingly significant threat to pipeline operators. In-line inspection (ILI) technology – magnetic flux leakage (MFL) tools, in particular – have a proven history of accurately locating illegal tap locations.

Mexico’s rapid growth of demand for electricity over the last decade happily coincided with burgeoning supplies of cheap shale gas in nearby Texas. This Mexican demand and Texan abundance drove a boom in cross-border pipeline construction which continues to this day.

A member of the energy intelligentsia in June, after the U.S.-Mexico dispute over immigration was calmed, noted President Donald Trump who was in Texas over that period delivered the message that he favors expanding infrastructure to bolster energy trade with Mexico.

A study commissioned by Pacific Northwest-based distribution company NW Natural shows natural gas plays a pivotal role in helping the region safely meet emission reduction goals more affordably.

EQM Midstream Partners raised the estimated cost of its 303-mile (488-km) Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia to $4.8 billion and delayed the projected completion to mid-2020 due to ongoing legal and regulatory challenges.

Jemena kicked off construction on the Atlas Gas Pipeline, located about 12 miles (20 km) southwest of Wandoan in Queensland, Australia.

Meritage Midstream will more than double the natural gas processing capacity on its supersystem in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin with the construction of a new, cryogenic processing plant located in Converse County, Wyo.

A lawsuit challenging Texas’ pipeline approval process was dismissed by a judge, clearing the way for Kinder Morgan to continue its construction of a 430-mile natural gas pipeline from the Permian Basin to the Gulf Coast.

Mexican state power utility CFE said it try to negotiate a “fairer” resolution to contractual disputes with companies behind several pipelines yet to go into operation, and whose costs have been questioned by Mexico’s president.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Enbridge doesn’t need additional insurance for its Line 61 pipeline project in Dane County, despite the local government’s insistence.

Brazos Midstream executed gathering and processing agreements with Shell Exploration & Production to construct a new natural gas gathering system located in the core of the Delaware Basin.

Indian natural gas company H-Energy will delay the start of its LNG import terminal at Jaigarh until the fourth quarter, company CEO Darshan Hiranandani, told Reuters.

Kinder Morgan and Tallgrass Energy began a joint tariff open season seeking commitments for crude oil transportation service from Bakken origin points on the Hiland Crude system to refinery delivery points along the Pony Express system and to Cushing, Okla.

Phillips 66 confirmed plans for a deepwater crude export terminal off the Texas Gulf Coast to transport production from the Permian and Bakken basins to international markets via its recently announced Red Oak and Liberty pipelines.

Planned crude oil pipeline projects may result in a “moderate overbuild” of Permian Basin crude oil capacity in the early 2020s, but Wood Mackenzie analysts project this period of overcapacity will be fairly short-lived before even more capacity is needed.

Russian state-owned pipeline monopoly Transneft criticized oil producer Rosneft, Reuters reported, alleging it had dragged its feet over quality controls and making unsubstantiated damages claims.

Alexei Miller, the head of Russian gas giant Gazprom, on Friday warned of difficult talks with Ukraine on gas transit to Europe once the current deal expires at the end of the year.

More than 50 people died in separate incidents in Nigeria during July, both related to fuel theft and pipeline sabotage, authorities said.

Egypt says it has struck a deal with the state-owned Israel Electric Corp to settle a fine for halting deliveries of natural gas.

TC Energy said it has agreed to sell some of its Columbia Midstream assets in the Appalachian Basin to energy distributor UGI Corporation for $1.28 billion.

Italy’s Eni said it has renewed an agreement to continue transport of Algerian natural gas through Tunisia until 2029.

Canada’s Pieridae Energy will buy gas assets in Alberta from Royal Dutch Shell for $144.77 million, Pieridae said on Wednesday, securing supply for its planned liquefied natural gas plant in eastern Canada.

Michigan’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit to shut down dual oil pipelines in the Great Lakes, saying they pose an “unacceptable risk.”

Gazprom has signed a 5-year contract with Turkmengaz to purchase natural gas, the Russian gas producer sad.

Enterprise Products Partners announced three additional expansion projects that will increase its capacity to load crude oil, LPG, and polymer grade propylene (PGP) from its Enterprise Hydrocarbon Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel.

House Democrats debuted the first comprehensive pipeline safety reform bill introduced in this Congress, and it contains a number of provisions opposed by both the intrastate and interstate gas transportation industries.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was scheduled to release a proposed rule in August limiting the ability of states to delay or even prevent the building of pipelines by delaying approval of water quality certifications required under the Clean Water Act. The CWA’s Section 401 gives states a reasonable amount of time, defined as up to one year, to consider a pipeline’s application.

Many oil and gas projects – ranging from onshore refineries to LNG terminals to offshore platforms – require extensive piping to connect process oil and gas.