November 2022, Vol. 249, No. 11
Editor's Notebook
(P&GJ) — Amid the finger-pointing and alternative conclusions that come with just about everything involving the energy sector these days, one hard fact has emerged concerning the Nord Stream: Someone deliberately blew four holes in its pipelines during a three-day period.
Government
(P&GJ) — Interstate gas pipelines will have nine months to comply with some of the significant, new safety regulations from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The agency has been working on these rules for a decade, ever since the San Bruno, Calif., gas explosion on a PG&E pipeline in 2010, which killed eight people.
(P&GJ) — Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) withdrawal of his infrastructure permitting reform bill from Senate consideration at the end of September probably shouldn’t cause any teeth gnashing among interstate pipeline companies hoping for a new era of pro-pipeline regulatory policy. In that regard, the bill was a major disappointment.
Features
(P&GJ) — Looking for faster, better, more effective ways to work in the densely populated environments has equipped pipeline operators and utilities with new sets of tools. Innovation is changing the makeup of jobs and mindsets within the energy field.
(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.
(P&GJ) — There are three major ways of moving pipeline sections from fabrication in a factory to placement in the ground in a right-of-way in North America. The decision of which transport method to use is based on several key factors, including costs, accessibility, and availability of needed resources.
(P&GJ) — East Africa’s leading oil pipeline operator, Kenya Pipeline Company, has seen its inline inspection (ILI) program – for its portions of its 1,113-mile (1,792-km) product pipeline – swamped in legal hurdles in the last three years. Since 2020, only one of the three tenders were floated, proceeding to contract award.
(P&GJ) — The Argentine operator Camuzzi Gas has awarded the Bahisa company a contract to build a 48-mile (72-km) gas pipeline from the city of Trenque Lauquen, west of Buenos Aires, to the city of America.
(P&GJ) — The Puerta al Sureste gas pipeline project is being carried out by the Canadian company TC Energía in conjunction with the Mexican state-owned company Comisión Federal de la Electricidad (CFE).
(P&GJ) — The list of companies leading the way in Pipeline & Gas Journal’s 41st annual 500 Report will certainly be familiar to long-time midstream observers, with little shake-up in rankings occurring between the 2021 and 2022 editions of the publication.
(P&GJ) — Are global and regional foreign direct investment (FDI) trends favorable for those investing in new pipelines or redeveloping existing ones? The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD’s) “World Investment Report 2022” answers that question.
(P&GJ) — Risk is an everyday part of life for pipeline operators, and controlling risk is a full-time job. Regardless of the operation, risk mitigation relies on many of the same things, including having the right equipment in the right hands, along with comprehensive policies, procedures and training.
EIA Update
(P&GJ) — Since late 2021, the difference has been widening between the natural gas price at the Waha Hub in West Texas and the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana.
(P&GJ) — Russia’s natural gas exports by pipeline to the European Union and the United Kingdom declined by almost 40% during the first seven months of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021, and by almost 50% compared with the previous five-year (2017–21) average, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon.
(P&GJ) — A variety of U.S. energy prices will remain historically high through 2023, including oil, natural gas, coal and electricity, according to its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
Guest Commentary
(P&GJ) — Federal regulators with the power to approve natural gas pipelines need to make judgment calls on everything from how pipelines will affect farmland to how much methane will leak.
- Texas Waha Hub Gas Prices Plunge to Record Lows, Hit Negative Territory
- U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down Controversial Biden Pipeline Safety Rules
- Williams Seeks Emergency Certificate to Operate $1 Billion Mid-Atlantic Gas Pipeline After Court Reversal
- Texas Oil Pipelines Near Max Capacity, Threatening Future Export Limits
- Energy Transfer Subsidiary Selects KTJV for Lake Charles LNG Export Project
- Saudi Arabia Looking to Expand Pipeline to Reduce Oil Exports via Gulf
- Report: Houston Region Poised to Become a Global Clean Hydrogen Hub
- Texas Startup Endeavors Again to Build First Major U.S. Oil Refinery Since 1977
- Puerto Bahia, Gasco to Build Liquefied Petroleum Gas Facility in Cartagena, Colombia
- Ukraine Approves $20 Billion Plan to Boost Renewable Energy to 27% by 2030