August 2021, Vol. 248, No. 8

The U.S. Supreme Court, in what some people including me would consider at least a minor surprise, upheld PennEast Pipeline’s authority to use eminent domain to acquire access to state property.

European Bank Halts Upstream Investments, Maintains Midstream, Congress Reverses Trump Rollbacks of Methane Rules and more.

A federal court decision stopping operation of the Spire STL pipeline in Missouri strengthens the hands of the Democratic leadership of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as it considers pipeline-opposed changes to its 1999 pipeline approval policy standards.

Tellurian Applies for New Reduced-Emission Pipeline Project in Louisiana, Navigator Aims to Expand U.S. Carbon Capture Pipeline Project and more.

Enbridge said the U.S. Army Corps’ decision to begin a tougher environmental review of the company’s proposed oil pipeline tunnel under the Great Lakes will set back construction on the project.

In 2021, there are very few new projects proposed in Mexico compared to what happened over the 2015–2020 period. New projects on the Mexican government’s radar are almost all related to connectivity with, and enhancing efficiency of, existing new pipelines.

Modern pipeline grades, such as X70 and X80, improve many properties but come with undesirable features such as heat-affected zone (HAZ) softening in seam and girth welds.

As global markets claw their way back from the 2020 pandemic trough and energy demand continues to rise, oil and gas producers remain largely committed to fiscal restraint, prices have risen to multi-year highs and storage has yet to recover from historic lows.

The World Bank released a special report about the future of sub-Saharan Africa, which found the region’s economic growth contracted by 2% in 2020. This was closer to the lower bound of the forecast it made last year. But it also found that prospects for recovery and growth in SSA are strengthening.

During the installation of a new pipeline, corrosion engineers must consider many different aspects of the pipeline and its corrosion protection. On the surface it may appear simple, thinking only of coatings and cathodic protection, but once construction is underway, the tasks are many.

Benchmarking is the process of comparing products, services and processes within an organization to an external standard, exploring how and why other organizations achieve higher levels of efficiency. This same methodology can be used to benchmark your pipeline integrity personnel.

As technology has advanced and overhead costs have grown, operators have voiced their concerns about how prohibitive the costs of such a framework are becoming for daily operations. In response, a new model of CRM and related operations has emerged to reduce operator costs, improve operational efficiency, and assist with CRM compliance.

Unlocking the value of process data through digital transformation not only offers oil and gas operators huge benefits, but it is also an essential step for businesses to remain efficient and competitive in the future.

Voluntary OPEC production cuts have been contributing to reduced U.S. crude oil imports from OPEC so far in 2021. Comparatively stable U.S. crude oil imports from Canada, however, have been mostly the result of longer-term trends.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that U.S. crude oil production in the U.S. Federal Gulf of Mexico will increase in the next two years, according to the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.

Halliburton’s technology team have been developing InnerVue non-intrusive diagnostics technology for several years. Advances in computing power and experience gained through numerous data collections in the field have moved the technology to a point where it can now be considered as an alternative for traditional intrusive ILI techniques.

EFI will provide PRCI members the opportunity to execute the research needed to ensure the safe transportation and storage of the next generation of energy, such as hydrogen, renewable natural gas and other potential gas and liquid fuel sources, that will help meet the world’s energy needs while reducing the impact to the environment.

Liquids pipeline incidents affecting people or the environment decreased 38% over the last five years, while total pipeline incidents were down 21%, according to government pipeline safety data.

Proper storage and maintenance are important to ensure the optimal performance and condition of urethane pigs.

Rescue Pipeline Services LLC (RPS), based in Houston, introduces their In-Field Flow Coating (IFC) technology for existing gas pipelines.

According to the new quarterly report published by the Central Bank of Mexico, economic growth for 2021 will be between 5% and 7%, which compares favorably with the January edition, indicating between 2.8% and 6% growth.