February 2021, Vol. 248, No. 2

When projects start being advanced again a familiar foe will be lying in wait – that being the ever-vigilant anti-pipeline coalition.

Uncertainty begets caution, which can lead to indecision. In the oil patch this eventually can lead to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings.

Spain’s Enagás, Belgium’s Fluxys, France’s GRTgaz and Italy’s Snam own and operate more than 62,000 miles (100,000 km) of gas pipelines and related infrastructure across Europe and beyond.

The last six decades have experienced an explosion of technological development, with the most recent focus being on data analytics, and the pipeline industry has more than dipped its toe in the benefits of data analysis.

This article discusses corrosion inhibitor development for ultra-deep-water systems that experience most of these extreme conditions, including downhole temperatures as high as 400° F (204° C) and pressures as high as 20,000 psi (1,379 bar).

South Africa is eyeing the generation of at least 3,000 MW from various gas-to-power technologies by 2027. This trend is likely to increase investments in natural gas exploration, indigenous production and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration estimates that 40% of the world’s pipelines are difficult to pig or are deemed “unpiggable,” which means they cannot be inspected via inline inspection, but their integrity still needs to be maintained.

Bangladesh’s government has undertaken an expensive gas infrastructure project with two goals: efficiency in gas production is to be improved and gas transmission pipeline capacity is to be extended.

Going forward, the Bakken Shale region should continue to provide good opportunities for midstream companies in 2021, though it will face challenges recovering in the wake of the pandemic.

Flaring has been a lightning rod for criticism of the upstream oil and gas sector due to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions it creates, as well as the perceived wastefulness by the companies who flare. What some may not realize is that the alternative, known as “venting,” is even more damaging.

Once the term “flow assurance” was coined in the 1990s, continued evolution in the offshore marketplace has demanded that the industry invest in advancing the design, strategies and principles that form the core of the field.

Despite the tough year of 2020, one Alberta-based integrated services provider business, SITE Resource Group (SITE), continues to thrive.

Access to publicly available satellite methane data from TROPOMI, and in future platforms such as those being planned by the ESA Copernicus missions, are animating interest from for-profit companies and not-for-profit advocacy groups interested in using methane data to advance these organizations’ missions.

A collection of briefs provides an update on global pipeline-related stories from this month.

With the ascension of President Joe Biden and environmentally friendly Democratic agency heads taking over U.S. regulatory and independent agencies, interstate gas pipelines face a host of newly emboldened, top-level appointees.

A collection of brief articles provides updates on global pipeline projects for the current month.

Siemens Smart Infrastructure and WUN H2 GmbH signed a contract to build one of the largest hydrogen production plants in Germany. It will be built in Wunsiedel in the north of Bavaria.

Composite pipe technology company Strohm secured a contract with Total and ExxonMobil for a qualification testing program for a high-pressure, high-temperature thermoplastic composite pipe (TCP).

As promised on the campaign trail, U.S. President Joe Biden formally revoked a key permit needed to build the Keystone XL pipeline, dashing the hopes of much of the Canadian crude oil sector.