Monitoring
PHMSA Eases Pipeline Regulations, Enforcement in Response to Pandemic
Responding to the impact Covid-19 on midstream staffing and resources, PHMSA has issued two guidance documents to ease some operating requirements, allow discretion in enforcement and provide flexibility to support the critical needs of state and industry partners.
Control Centers at the Heart of Innovation, Advancement
Just as technology advances helped drive U.S. oil and gas producers to new heights, operators of the energy highways – the pipelines and their sophisticated control centers – are increasingly harnessing innovation to gain efficiency.
Embedding Operating Procedures in Pipeline SCADA
The pipeline supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) operator has one of the most critical jobs in the pipeline industry and should be given all the help available to keep pipelines safe and liquid flowing. To this end, more than 25 years ago, a major oil company determined that SCADA-embedded operating procedures and safety features were needed to improve safety.
Russia, Belarus Closer to Resolving Supply, Pipeline Issues: Moscow
Russia and Belarus, who have yet to resolve a dispute over contamination of an oil pipeline, are closer to resolving their differences on oil and gas supplies, Russia's economy minister said Saturday after talks between the two countries.
How to Readily Access Accurate Data in Pipeline Integrity Management
In my experience, there are two common complaints from pipeline operators, and they occur at two different stages of the pipeline – one during construction, and the other during operations – but they are at their core the same: access to readily accurate data.
Our World Is Moving – And So Are The Pipelines
Strain assessments and pipeline movement assessments allow operators to identify and mitigate threats presented by geohazards.
Improving Data Loss During In-Line Inspections
Although there are other inspection methods, such as direct assessment or hydrostatic testing, ILIs are the most popular worldwide due to number of factors, including practicality, cost-effectiveness and accuracy.
Utility Finds Big Assist with Low-Pressure Issue
While psi levels vary depending on the application, real-time pressure monitoring is essential for utilities that supply natural gas to residential and commercial endpoints on their distribution networks.
PHMSA Publishes "Mega" Rule After Nearly A Decade of Work
U.S. transportation officials on Tuesday adopted long-delayed measures that are meant to prevent pipeline spills and deadly gas explosions but don't address recommended steps to lessen accidents once they occur.
Produced Water Spills into Missouri River Tributary
Cleanup is underway after 21,000 gallons of brine oilfield wastewater leaked from an underground pipeline in western North Dakota and into an unnamed tributary of the Missouri River, the state Health Department said Monday.
Emerson
Emerson released the Micro Motion 4200 2-wire loop-powered Coriolis transmitter, a new design that makes it possible to replace existing two-wire flow devices with minimal effort and without incurring additional power or cabling costs. The device can accommodate the largest line size (4-inch) of any..
Sercel-GRC
Sercel-GRC (GRC) recently sold the 1000th Spy Pro gauge for downhole ESP systems. Rated for 5,000 and 10,000 psi at 150 degrees C (302 degrees F), the device can record up to 11 parameters, used to monitor the ESP production system. This includes intake and discharge pressures, intake and motor temp..
WFS Technologies
WFS Technologies offers Seatooth PipeLogger, an integrated pipeline, umbilical, risers and flowlines temperature monitoring and data transfer solution. It can provide real-time monitoring for offshore and subsea assets. It has been used to reduce the risk and operational costs associated with coiled..
SwRI Improves Structural Monitoring of Aging Pipelines with Transducers
Maintenance of aging pipelines, especially ones that are insulated and/or buried, is a major challenge, due to limited access for application of conventional nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. Even when access is available, financial and time constraints mean that conventional NDE is often carried out on a sampling basis, which makes it less reliable than full coverage inspection.
Measuring Crack Defects with Sub-Millimeter Accuracy
Ultrasonic crack technology, using piezoelectric transducers, is a proven and widely used solution for crack and crack-like defect detection in liquids pipelines. Over the past 20 years, only minor developments and improvements in this area were offered to pipeline operators.
Abriox
Software and hardware systems can be costly to install on a broad scale, but Osprey, designed and built by Abriox, is helping utilities supplement surveillance at multiple locations by monitoring, gathering and processing real-time data, economically. Osprey allows users to see daily compilations of..
Technical Toolboxes
Technical Toolboxes released Version 19.0 of its The Pipeline Toolbox. The device features a range of improved calculations and applications, along with an embedded new license manager that strengthens security and enables better visibility. With its more than 230 pipeline-specific oil and gas appli..
Mass. Budgets Statewide Review of Natural Gas Systems
Gov. Charlie Baker has signed a spending bill that funds a statewide examination of Massachusetts’ natural gas distribution system. The review was ordered after the Sept. 13 gas explosions that killed one person, injured 25 others and damaged or destroyed dozens of buildings in the Merrimack Valley.
Emerson
Emerson Emerson’s TopWorx TV-LED Switchbox provides a local, ultra-bright LED position indicator plus an electrical signal/digital input that communicates valve position remotely to the control room or plant management system. With its 360° viewing angle, the device enabl..
Unwanted Night Moves
Whenever the subject of internal corrosion in pipelines comes up, it rekindles some unpleasant memories from my extensive time as a pipeline company spokesperson. Being part of an emergency response team for over 12 years was rewarding in many ways, but there was always an uneasy feeling when the phone would ring in the middle of the night.
Damage Tolerance Testing of Small-Diameter Pipelines
Internal and external corrosion, as well as third-party damage such as dents and gouges, are the main causes of pipeline failures worldwide. When such damage is detected by direct inspection, or in-line inspection methods, a decision to replace, repair, or accept and monitor must be made.
Over-Pressure Protection for Natural Gas Distribution Systems
Over-pressure protection equipment, or systems, are critically employed to ensure a single point of failure cannot result in exceeding the system MAOP.
SCADA Operations Controlled Remotely
Houston-based Remote Operations Center (ROC) connects operators to their data and provides an offsite monitoring workforce that can improve efficiency while reducing risk. It is the only third-party provider solely focused on executing control center services for liquid and gas pipeline operators.
Combined Flaws Represent Key Danger to Pipelines
Sergey Zubin, chief engineer of Transneft Diascan, discusses the importance of detecting “combined flaws,” or those that occur in close proximity on the pipeline, with Pipeline & Gas Journal.
Advanced Analytics Can Help Boost Pipeline Performance
Leveraging existing operational data as well as new data sources available as part of a digital transformation can provide great opportunities to significantly improve performance through better asset reliability, efficiency and safety performance.
Section of Keystone Pipeline Shut Down after Leak
TransCanada Corp said a stretch of its Keystone crude oil pipeline from Nebraska to Illinois remained shut down on Monday after a leak was discovered last week near St. Louis, Missouri.
Remote, Real-Time Monitoring Prevents Potential Problems
With utilities adding more and more residential and commercial endpoints to their distribution systems, the need to prevent and detect leaks has never been more challenging – or more critical. Thankfully, advanced technologies have emerged that allow utilities to harness new capabilities such as data analytics and remote monitoring to stay on top of leaks and address them before they create significant safety issues.
Thieves Siphon Whole Pipelines; Mexico to Ship Gas on Trains
Fuel thieves in Mexico have grown so bold they are drilling illegal taps under warehouses in big cities and siphoning off the entire contents of pipelines, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. He cited one pipeline carrying gasoline that thieves had drilled into so many times they had siphoned all the fuel in the duct.
Lawmakers Urge US Agency to Bolster Pipeline Cybersecurity
Two Democratic lawmakers urged the Department of Homeland Security to better protect U.S. oil and gas pipelines from cyber-attacks, after a report they requested detailed a lack of federal oversight of the critical conduits.
Government
Change of Class Location Draws Opposition Citizen organizations and state regulators are opposing interstate pipeline efforts to convince federal regulators to provide an alternative to the class location system, which requires pipelines to take steps when there is population growth around a pipeli..
- Keystone Oil Pipeline Resumes Operations After Temporary Shutdown
- Freeport LNG Plant Runs Near Zero Consumption for Fifth Day
- Biden Administration Buys Oil for Emergency Reserve Above Target Price
- Mexico Seizes Air Liquide's Hydrogen Plant at Pemex Refinery
- Enbridge to Invest $500 Million in Pipeline Assets, Including Expansion of 850-Mile Gray Oak Pipeline
