Community & Environment
Dominion Outlines New National Forest Route for Pipeline
RICHMOND, VA (AP) — Energy companies behind the Atlantic Coast Pipeline have carved a new proposed route through parts of West Virginia and Virginia in response to federal concerns about the national gas pipeline’s initial path through sensitive national forest areas. The alternate released Frida..
Los Angeles DA Charges Utility with Crimes for Gas Leak
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles prosecutors filed misdemeanor criminal charges Tuesday against a utility for failing to immediately report a natural gas leak that has been gushing nonstop for nearly 15 weeks. District Attorney Jackie Lacey said the charges aren’t a solution to the problem, but Sou..
Trucks to Move Oil Stored after California Pipeline Break
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp. won approval Monday for its plan to use trucks to move more than 17 million gallons of oil stranded in storage tanks after a California pipeline break in May, despite concerns from environmentalists that highway safety could be jeopardized. The Santa Barbara Cou..
Exxon Says Oil and Gas Will Still Dominate Energy in 2040
DALLAS (AP) — The way oil giant Exxon Mobil sees it, the global energy landscape won’t be radically different in 2040 than it is today. Oil and gas will remain king, accounting for an even slightly larger share of the energy supply. Coal will fall behind natural gas to become the third-largest sourc..
Feds Seek Limit on Methane Gas Flaring at Drilling Sites
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Friday proposed new rules to clamp down on oil companies that burn off natural gas on public land, arguing the effort will reduce waste and harmful methane emissions as part of President Barack Obama’s bid to curb climate change. Energy companies freq..
Appeals Court: Clean Power Plan Can Proceed Pending Review
WASHINGTON (AP) — In what environmentalists hailed as a victory for efforts to curb climate change, an appeals panel Thursday in Washington rebuffed efforts to delay enforcement of President Barack Obama’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions until legal challenges are resolved. The U.S. Court..
Company Executive Blames Decade-Old Oil Leak on 'Act of God'
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A decade-old oil leak that could last for another century was caused by an “act of God” during a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, the president of the company responsible said Wednesday. Taylor Energy President William Pecue told a gathering of industry experts and environ..
Measuring Methane Emissions: Part of Gas Pipelines’ Future
When examining the growing cottage industry of methane emissions control, it is clear upfront that it is one of the toughest sub-specialties in the emerging conglomerate that makes up the national response to climate change impacts. Researchers, engineers and public-policy wonks must start with the ..
Columbia Pipelines Looking to Spend $1.1 Billion on Modernization
Columbia Gas Transmission has filed a customer agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to extend its long-term system modernization program by three years, through 2020.The agreement, with a requested approval by March 31, would provide for $1.1 billion of additional investment. Parent company Columbia Pipeline Gas (CPG), has invested about $1 billion under the modernization programs over the past three years, placing more than 100 projections into service. These include: • Replacement of more than 130 miles of bare steel pipelines and wrought iron facilities
AP Investigation: US Power Grid Vulnerable to Foreign Hacks
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Security researcher Brian Wallace was on the trail of hackers who had snatched a California university's housing files when he stumbled into a larger nightmare: Cyber-attackers had opened a pathway into the networks running the United States power grid.
Los Angeles Sues Gas Company over 6-Week-Old Leak
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles city attorney has sued the Southern California Gas Co. over a 6-week-old natural gas leak that has sparked complaints of illness and forced hundreds of families out of a San Fernando Valley neighborhood. The Superior Court lawsuit alleges unfair competition and creation of a public nuisance.
Dont Expect Crude Exodus Because Export Ban Ending
Congress is on the verge of passing a major budget deal that includes some of the largest changes to energy policy in some years. Tucked into the budget bill is a repeal on the ban on crude oil exports from the United States, a highly sought after goal on behalf of the oil and gas industry. In exchange for lifting the export ban, Republicans agreed to extend tax credits for wind and solar for five years.
Mexico Oil Sector Sees Most Successful Auction So Far
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's third auction to open oil and gas blocks to private investment was the most successful yet, with all 25 blocks drawing bids Tuesday. Officials awarded exploration and production rights to mostly Mexican companies, as well as one Canadian firm plus consortiums involving U.S. and Dutch investments. No major multinational oil companies participated in the bidding.
AP Analysis: Why US Will Export Oil for 1st Time in Decades
NEW YORK — The United States, seemingly awash in crude oil after an energy boom sent thousands of workers scurrying to the plains of Texas and North Dakota, will begin exporting oil for the first time since the 1973 oil embargo. The lifting of the embargo is part of a spending deal expected to be pushed through the House and Senate by the end of the week. Here's a brief look at why the ban was in place, and the reasons why that ban is now being lifted after four decades.
Mr. Mayeaux, You Left Your Company in the Right Hands
Justin Harvey knows he has an industrial-sized pair of shoes to fill as he takes the helm at A+ Corporation, a family-owned and operated gas sample conditioning system service company in Gonzales, LA. The 30-year-old Harvey was just a toddler when his legendary grandfather Donald Mayeaux founded the company in 1989. Mayeaux earned his reputation for developing product concepts that changed the manner in which natural gas was sampled.
Waters of the United States Defined and Your Next Pipeline
<em>Editor’s note: The EPA’s proposed rule changes could considerably expand the jurisdiction of the federal government. Here are some proactive steps that pipeline owners and operators should consider to prepare for unprecedented expansion of the Clean Water Act.</em> The proposed Rule 33 CFR, Part 328, developed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) and in review with the White House, will redefine and clarify the reach of EPA’s jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Robot Works Below Iconic Scotland Street to Repair Pipeline
ULC Robotics, a leading robotics, energy services and research/development company focused on the energy and utility industries, deployed its Cast Iron Joint Sealing Robot (CISBOT) for the first time in Scotland on busy George Street in Edinburgh this past summer. Similar to Fifth Avenue in New York City, the visitors and high-end shop owners along George Street had minimal disturbance to their normal routines because CISBOT because is virtually invisible.
Editor's Notebook: Winners, Losers and Keystone XL Debacle
I have some final thoughts about the Keystone XL debacle, because that’s what it was. That project never should have been the line in the sand in the debate over climate change, because as we all know, any environmental effect would have been negligible at worst.
APGA Determined to Have Its Voice Heard on Capitol Hill
Leading a natural gas distribution company is always a challenge because there are few businesses that deal so directly with their customer base, be it residential, commercial or industrial, as well as safety regulators, equipment and service providers, not to mention the city council or utility board that approves rates.
Judge Rejects Bid to Block Alberta Clipper Pipeline Upgrade
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge rejected the key parts of a lawsuit brought by tribal and environmental groups that sought to block a capacity expansion on the Alberta Clipper crude oil pipeline, saying the courts don't have the authority to intervene at this stage. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis concluded Wednesday that the letters the State Department sent to Canadian-based Enbridge Energy weren't the kinds of final decisions that courts have jurisdiction to review.
EPA Proposes New Methane Regulations for Midstream Operations
The federal Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed new regulations for methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the oil and gas sector that place time-consuming and expensive new requirements on midstream businesses. These regulations would not apply to pipelines, but would require ongoing emissions monitoring and equipment replacements at compressor stations and natural gas processing plants built, “modified,” or “reconstructed” after Sept. 18, 2015.
Companies Asking Oklahoma Judge to Toss Earthquake Lawsuit
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Two energy companies are asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit by an Oklahoma woman who claims she was injured in an earthquake caused by the injection of wastewater deep into the ground — a method used for decades by the industry to dispose of the chemical-laced byproduct of oil and gas production.
Los Angeles Sues Gas Company over 6-Week-Old Leak (1)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles city attorney sued the Southern California Gas Co. on Monday over a 6-week-old natural gas leak that has sparked complaints of illness and forced hundreds of families out of a San Fernando Valley neighborhood. The Superior Court lawsuit alleges unfair competition and creation of a public nuisance.
2 Natural Gas Facilities Proposed for Louisiana 'Alternative Hub'
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Two companies are looking at building large facilities along the Mississippi River south of New Orleans where they can export natural gas to the world market, another sign of the expanding footprint of the natural gas industry in Louisiana.
Improving Lost and Unaccounted for Levels by Embracing Innovation
Across many industries, companies showing a reluctance to embrace new technology are in danger of losing any competitive edge. In the oil and gas industry, where even the smallest error can have a major long-term effect, embracing innovation in the form of data analytics has become a necessity for companies striving to reach the highest levels.
Pipeline Rush in Upper Midwest: Gas to Replace Coal
Nine- and even 12-figure numbers don’t phase Paul Copello, a petroleum engineer and president of IIR Energy, a capital projects tracking company that globally compiles and analyzes information for over 95,000 energy projects worldwide, collectively representing potential capital investment of $13.7 trillion. Among those projects, the natural gas pipeline sector is one of the surest bets for consistent increased capital spending, Copello told an energy meeting in Chicago last September.
Oil Sands Producers Can Live with Albertas New Carbon Taxes
If business is good at anything, it is pragmatism. Take a hostile takeover for example. After weeks or months of trading insults and accusations in and out of the media, a deal is struck and the warring CEO’s shake hands and call the final deal a stroke of genius. Whatever they may really feel, they put the past behind them and move forward, ostensibly in the best interests of shareholders. After all, it’s just business.
TGP Seeks FERC Approval to Upgrade NED Capacity
Tennessee Gas Pipeline, a Kinder Morgan company, filed with FERC to increase capacity of the proposed Northeast Energy Direct (NED) project to 1.2 Bcf/d, an increase from 1 Bcf/d as submitted in earlier documents. TGP plans several route modifications on both the mainline and delivery laterals. The anticipated in-service date for the NED project remains Nov. 1, 2018.
Paris Climate Talks Point to Boon for Energy Storage
As the world leaders come together in Paris to tackle the hot issue of climate change, there is one market that not only remains crucial for growth of renewable energy sources; but also remains the most talked about market in the global investment circles: the energy storage market.
Manslaughter Charges Dropped for BP Supervisors in Oil Spill
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Justice Department launched a sweeping and costly criminal investigation after BP's rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and caused the nation's worst offshore oil disaster. For roughly two years, a task force of FBI agents and prosecutors occupied an entire floor of a high-rise building across from the federal courthouse in New Orleans.
- SoCalGas Worker Killed in Gas Line Explosion, 15 Others Injured
- Phillips 66, Plains Sanction $2.5 Billion Red Oak Pipeline System
- $1.6 Billion Liberty Pipeline Construction to Proceed Under Phillips 66, Bridger JV
- Texas Court Clears Path for Kinder Morgan's Permian Highway Pipeline
- Ritchie Bros. Sells Record $93 Million of Equipment in Two-Day Auction
