Operations

Recognizing Value of Data as Pipeline Integrity Assets

(P&GJ) — Increased investment in infrastructure as a result of higher oil and gas prices, as well as growing activity in planning for future energy provision, means that many operators and utilities around the world are seeking ways to help them improve operational efficiency and access to safe and sustainable energy for the communities that they serve.

Supply Chain Woes Loom Large for Oil, Gas Sectors

(P&GJ) — In the fall of 2022, the Chicago-based Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM) joined with the respected global accounting and consulting firm KPMG International to create an index for measuring the sustainability of the global supply chain, accompanied by a report that included some sobering conclusions. It summarized the past two years as producing a doubling of the stress level on global supply deliveries.

Value of Routing Studies for New Natural Gas Pipelines

(P&GJ) — When natural gas pipeline owners announce their preferred route for a new pipeline, permitting bodies and other stakeholders inevitably ask, “Why here?” By conducting a methodical routing study that produces data-driven and experience-tested route alternatives, owners obtain supporting data and documentation they can use to formulate a response and help obtain buy-in.

Supply Chain Solutions for Natural Gas Leak Detection

(P&GJ) — Now more than ever, utilities, governments and pipeline companies are incentivized to secure their supplies of natural gas from production all the way to the meter. Leak detection and emissions reduction are critical components of an optimized natural gas distribution system.

Bankruptcy at European Storage Terminal Supports Tank Storage Rates

The bankruptcy of a major storage terminal planned in northwest Europe has supported regional tank storage rates for diesel and gasoline, just as European traders rush to fill up diesel tanks ahead of a Feb. 5 ban on Russian fuel.

NATO, EU Launching Task Force to Protect Pipelines Following Nord Stream Attack

NATO and the EU are launching a task force to boost the protection of critical infrastructure in response to last year's attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and Russia's "weaponizing of energy," the organizations’ leaders said on Wednesday.

US Pipeline Regulator Probing 60-Barrel Leak on Colonial's Line 3

Top U.S. pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline on Wednesday shut its Line 3 for unscheduled maintenance in response to a "product release" at its Witt delivery station near Danville, Virginia. PHMSA is monitoring the estimated 60-barrel leak on the company's Line 3 pipeline in Virginia, a source told Reuters on Thursday.

Pipeline Explosion Kills At Least One Pemex Worker in Central Mexico

At least one worker from Mexico's state oil company Pemex died on Dec. 21 in a fuel pipeline explosion in the central state of Hidalgo, local officials said on Twitter.

Identifying Pipeline Exposure via River Scour Monitoring Technology

(P&GJ) — Erosion and scouring, among other sources, can lead to pipeline exposure when pipelines cross bodies of water. Even if these pipelines were adequately covered at one time, they are at risk for partial or full exposure due to water actions.

Gas Starts to Flow to Freeport LNG Export Plant in Texas

Freeport LNG's long-shut liquefied natural gas export plant in Texas was on track to receive natural gas on Tuesday, according to data from Refinitiv, a possible sign the plant might meet the company's projected end of the year return date.

RBC: Blast Hits Russia-Ukraine Gas Export Pipeline

A blast has ripped through the Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhhorod gas exporting pipeline, which leads from Russia through Ukraine, the RBC news outlet cited local officials as stating on Tuesday.

TC Energy Submits Restart Plan for Keystone Pipeline to US regulator

TC Energy Corp. has submitted a restart plan for its Keystone pipeline to U.S. safety regulator Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) which is being reviewed, according to a source on Tuesday.

Explainer: Oil Storage Situation in Canada, US After Keystone Spill

Days after TC Energy Corp.'s Keystone pipeline shut following a 14,000-barrel spill into a creek in Kansas, traders are questioning whether there is enough oil in storage in key areas if the pipeline remains closed for a number of weeks.

Predictive Corrosion Modeling – Rise of the Machines

(P&GJ) — Pipelines play an important role in the international transportation of natural gas, petroleum products and other energy resources. To ensure pipeline operational safely, instrumented inspections and assessments are completed on a recurring frequency.

Methane Emissions Problem Requires Better Monitoring

(P&GJ) — In 2021, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measured methane in the atmosphere at 1,900 parts per billion. That was a record high and almost three times the level of methane present in the preindustrial age.

TC Energy Restarts Segment of Keystone Pipeline Unaffected by Oil Spill

Canada's TC Energy Corp. is resuming operations in a section of its Keystone pipeline a week after a leak of more than 14,000 barrels of oil in rural Kansas triggered the whole pipe's shutdown.

Major Oil Pipeline Outage to Hit US Stockpiles, Refinery Supplies

An outage on the largest oil pipeline to the United States from Canada could affect inventories at a key U.S. storage hub and cut crude supplies to two oil refining centers, analysts and traders said on Friday.

TC Energy Says Has Not Found Cause of Keystone Oil Pipeline Leak

TC shut the pipeline after more than 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into a creek in Kansas on Wednesday, making it one of the largest U.S. crude spills in nearly a decade.

Netherlands to Spend Up To $548 Million to Fill Gas Storage for Next Winter

The Dutch government expects to spend up to $548.4 million to sufficiently fill the gas storage at Bergermeer, one of Europe's largest, in the winter of 2023-2024.

Gas Flow Resumes from Equitrans Pennsylvania Site After November Leak

Equitrans Midstream Corp. on Friday said it has received agency approvals to flow gas out of the Rager Mountain storage facility in Pennsylvania following a November natural gas leak that lasted for several days.

API Publishes Two Updated Standards for Underground Natural Gas Storage

(P&GJ) — The American Petroleum Institute released two second-edition standards on Nov. 29 for natural gas storage in underground salt caverns and depleted hydrocarbon and aquifer reservoirs to help ensure a safe and reliable energy supply.

JERA Expects Fire-Hit Freeport LNG Texas Shipments to Fully Resume by March

Japan's biggest buyer of LNG, JERA, expects Freeport LNG's production at its fire-hit Texas plant to partially resume in mid-December and its shipments to be fully back by March, President Satoshi Onoda said on Tuesday.

US Proposes Rules to Limit Methane Leaks from Public Lands Drilling

The U.S Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management on Monday proposed rules to limit methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on public lands, the latest move by the Biden administration to crack down on the potent greenhouse gas.

Russia Says It Foiled Sabotage at 'South Stream' Gas Pipeline

Russia's Federal Security Service said on Thursday that it had prevented Ukrainian special services from carrying out what it said was sabotage on the "South Stream" gas pipeline.

Yemen's Houthis Attack Al-Dhabba Oil Terminal, Force Ship to Leave

Yemen's Houthis attacked al-Dhabba oil terminal in Hadhramaut province on Monday, the group and Yemen's internationally recognized government said.

Carbon Capture Not Ending Pipeline Woes

(P&GJ) — With growing demand and government incentives to develop more carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) capacity, some of the biggest U.S. pipeline projects now on the drawing board are designed to transport CO2 from source to storage.

Equitrans Stops Natural Gas Leak at Pennsylvania Storage Facility

U.S. energy company Equitrans Midstream Corp. said it stopped a natural gas leak at its Rager Mountain storage facility in Jackson Township in Cambria County in western Pennsylvania on Thursday afternoon.

Nord Stream Leaks Confirmed as Sabotage, Sweden Says

Investigators have found traces of explosives at the site of the damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines, confirming sabotage had taken place, a Swedish prosecutor said on Friday.

Equitrans Expects to Stop Pennsylvania Gas Leak in Next Couple of Days

U.S. energy company Equitrans Midstream Corp. said on Thursday it expected to stop a natural gas leak at its Rager Mountain storage facility in Pennsylvania in the next couple of days.

Pipeline Fire Ignited by Gas Leak Leaves Five Injured in Ecuador

Ecuadorean state oil company Petroecuador said on Thursday five people were injured in a fire caused by a leak in a pipeline that carries gas to a refinery in the South American country's Amazon region.