Current Issue: 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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ControlAir introduced the Type 480V Precision Vacuum Regulator, which is designed with a push-type locking knob, allowing for smooth output adjustment and the ability to lock in your setpoint to avoid unintentional adjustments.  The regulator senses output p..

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OleumTech offers two new products for the OTC wireless sensor and I/O network: tilt and vibration transmitters. Both devices are designed to monitor equipment health, maximize uptime and prevent mechanical failures. The self-contained, battery-powered transmitters will prov..

Exact Tools launched their latest portable Pipe Cutting innovations with their Pro Series 280 and 360 models. Standard features include a powerful 2500w 230v motor being able to cut pipe wall thicknesses of 20 mm in steel and up to 50 mm in plastic.  110-120v versions are also available with a 2200w..

Ashcroft 1140 Series differential pressure gauges are a budget friendly solution for applications that do not require all stainless steel protection. These gauges feature a sturdy glass filled nylon front case that allows the window to be easily removed and ..

Tempest 8.4 offers support for industry-standard reservoir simulators, enabling users to convert pre-existing models to run inside the Tempest More simulator. This compatibility is complemented by an expansion of the simulators supported by the assisted history matching and uncertainty analysis tool..

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

Stakeholder Midstream has promoted Josh J. Roberts to chief operating officer and Brett Baker to chief commercial officer.  San Antonio-based Stakeholder is  focusing on the San Andres play of West Texas and New Mexico. P&GJ Baker ..

Cheniere Energy appointed Michele A. Evans to its board of directors. She will be an independent director and serve on the Audit and the Governance and Nominating committees.  Evans has more than 30 years of experience in the defense and aerospace industry and currently is executive vice president o..

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Michels promoted Robert Osborn to vice president of Energy and Matt Westphal to senior vice president of Pipelines. Osborn joined Michels in 2001 and has almost 40 years of experience and Westphal has more than 30 years of experience. P&GJ..

Meritage Midstream announced that T. Jeffrey Layne has joined the company as chief operating officer and Matthew DeNezza has joined as chief operating officer. DeNezza also serves as chief financial officer. They joined the Denver-based company as it prepared to commission its Steamboat Cryogenic Pr..

Mark Schiller was named president and chief executive officer of Lane Industries and its subsidiary The Lane Construction Corporation. He succeeds Robert E. Alger after 20 years of operational leadership at Lane, most recently as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Operations – C..

Former Quanta Services CEO Jim O’Neil has joined CUI Global’s board of directors as vice-chairman and lead independent director, expanding the board to six members. P&GJ ..

National Fuel Gas Company named Ronald C. Kraemer president of National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation, succeeding David P. Bauer who became president and chief executive officer of the company. Kraemer will continue in his role as president of Empire Pipeline, retaining responsibility for the company’..

Moscow-based steel pipe producer TMK has named Igor Korytko as CEO, replacing Alexander Shiryaev, who will continue to serve on its board of directors.  Korytko previously served as TMK’s vice president for Efficiency Management. P&GJ..

Kirby-Smith Machinery promoted Rebecca McNatt to director of construction technology. In this role, McNatt will be responsible for the growth and development of Komatsu Smart Construction and other equipment manufacturer technology programs offered through KSM. P&GJ..

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Pittsburgh’s Babst Calland law firm has merged with attorneys of the Chambers Law Firm to established a new Houston-area office in The Woodlands with attorneys specializing in energy matters.  Les R. Chambers, Ryan A. Chambers, and Coleman G. Anglin joined the Firm as shareholders, and Nataliya K. T..

A subsidiary of WPX Energy and its joint venture partner in the Oryx II pipeline have signed agreements to sell the project. Upon close, WPX expects net proceeds of approximately $350 million for its 25% equity interest after adjusting for debt financing related to Oryx II. WPX is retaining its cont..

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CSI Compressco completed the relocation and expansion of its East Texas facility from Longview to Kilgore, Texas. The 10,000-square-foot shop facility provides compressor fleet repair and overhaul services and serves as a hub for the company’s expanded field service and parts-stocking capabilities i..

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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.