April 2020, Vol. 247, No. 4

Pipeline & Gas Journal Editor-in-Chief Mike Reed discusses how our publication is handling the COVID-19 pandemic and how we are continuing to support our readers during this time.

Just as technology advances helped drive U.S. oil and gas producers to new heights, operators of the energy highways – the pipelines and their sophisticated control centers – are increasingly harnessing innovation to gain efficiency.

In the “allegory of the cave” by Plato, people have been imprisoned inside a cave for their entire lives, tied and bound so they can only see the stone wall in front of them. Behind them is a fire. Between the fire and the prisoners is a raised walkway, which contains objects. Puppeteers manipulate the objects, cast shadows on the wall, and also make noises.

Canada's efforts to add oil and gas pipeline capacity were stalemated by legal challenges over the past decade, but two important court rulings since the start of the year may break the bottleneck.

In our second look at China’s pipeline infrastructure, Energy Writer Gordon Feller explores CNPC’s investment of billions of dollars in Kazakhstan´s energy sector and doubts that remain surrounding a final export corridor.

Thanks to operations cost cutting and improvements in productivity, investment in offshore exploration and production activities is beginning to recover from its 2017 nadir.

Despite ongoing media coverage of protests and bans, the U.S. is actually using more natural gas than ever before. “The interesting thing is, over the last 10 years, the amount of switching we’ve seen happen from other sources of energy to natural gas for electric generation,” said Riedl. “We’re using more natural gas than ever for our electricity generation in the U.S. at present.”

The energy landscape is undergoing a fast transformation, and the hydrocarbon value chain’s very fabric is being tested as it will continue to be over the coming years.

Corrosion is the chemical process through which metal tries to return to its original or mineral state. In the case of buried pipelines, the metal is exposed to corrosive processes that may eventually cause ruptures with the consequent environmental and economic damages.

H ow can a natural gas pipeline, just a few tens of miles long, produce more headaches, frustration, delays and public opposition – and cost more – than a line of a few hundred miles? It can, if that line is in a dense urban environment.

The 16th annual Pipeline Opportunities Conference (POC) took a cautionary tone during the early spread of coronavirus, but despite the uncertainty about industry impact, experts offered guidance throughout the event on practical approaches to a myriad of known challenges and opportunities in the months ahead.

It’s a common refrain among investors that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” meaning the share prices of similar companies tend to act in unison.  Unfortunately, that’s equally true of falling tides, as demonstrated by the performance of North American midstream equities in recent weeks.

Several natural gas pipeline upgrades are either planned or under construction in New England, which will increase deliverability into the region over the next several years, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

PHMSA told pipeline operators on March 20 that the administration recognized the constraints they face in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, adding that certain employees may be required to work outside of their classification.

Performance limits and potential failures must be identified for buried pipe design. Chief among those are excessive deformations of the pipe, wall buckling and collapse.

Data collection, inspections and safety within the basin have become increasingly important among oil and gas enterprises in the Permian Basin, and drone technology has emerged as a front runner to transform operations.

Subsea UK teamed up with one of the world’s leading non-profit ocean protection organizations to promote and support initiatives to prevent pollution of our oceans.

International energy consultancy Xodus Group released a new analysis showing that a rapid pivot to gas will be required to deal with rising global energy demand.

The European Union is set to ratchet up its climate ambition, overhauling continent-wide regulation aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions.

Democrats in the House have introduced two bills that would negatively affect interstate pipelines. The legislative efforts align with a broader push by Democrats, including presidential candidates, to enact “green” energy policies, which will vilify natural gas, if not at least tarnish its reputation, as a climate-preferred alternative to coal and oil.

Natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines will have to install automatic shutoff valves (ASVs), remote control valves (RCVs) or equivalent technology on all newly constructed or entirely replaced pipelines that have nominal diameters of 6 inches (152.4 mm) or greater if the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) finalizes a proposal it issued in February.

Spire Energy is a public utility serving more than 1.7 million customers in Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri, making it the fifth-largest publicly traded natural gas company in the United States.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum confronted the pipeline industry nearly three years ago, suggesting that technological improvements were needed to overcome the trend toward increased pipeline leaks in his state.

John Deere updated its line of rotary cutter attachments with the new RX72 and RX84, designed for heavy-duty vegetation management applications, including property maintenance and right-of-way clearing.