Safety

Texas Oil Regulator Advises Pipeline Operators to Prepare for Severe Winter Conditions

The Texas oil regulator on Sunday advised oil and gas pipeline operators to secure equipment and facilities after forecasts for severe weather over the next several days.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Suspected Drone Hits Oil Depot in Russia's Oryol, Officials Say

A suspected drone struck a tanker at an oil depot in the Russian region of Oryol on Wednesday, officials said. Unverified images on social media showed what appeared to be a single rupture on the side of an oil storage tank, blackened by soot.

One Killed, Two Injured in Petronas-operated Pipeline Explosion in Malaysia

Malaysian state energy company Petronas reported a fire at the Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline near Lawas on Wednesday afternoon, which the Borneo Post online said led to an explosion that killed one person and injured two others.

Methane Cloud Linked to Fire at Kinder Morgan Compression Station

(P&GJ) — U.S. pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc. said that a methane cloud seen above Alabama last month was possibly triggered by a natural-gas discharge following a fire at a compressor station owned by the company.

Nord Stream Operator Granted Permission to Survey Danish Waters

Nord Stream AG, the operator of the ruptured Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, has been granted permission to survey an area in Danish waters, the Danish Geodata Agency told Reuters on Thursday.

German Navy Helping Norway Protect Oil Rigs, Pipelines

The German navy is helping Norway to protect critical maritime infrastructure such as oil rigs, undersea cables and pipelines, is ready to do the same off the Danish and Swedish coasts, its head said on Thursday.

Pipeline Cybersecurity Implementation Plan for TSA Security Directive

(P&GJ) — The pipeline industry has been placing focus and efforts on cybersecurity ever since last year’s Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA’s) security directives were first issued. The security directives (SDs) were a pushed rollout that caught many off-guard at the time—they knew it was coming but did not know the exact details.

Cybersecurity Update: Aligning Industry Standard’s Best Practices

(P&GJ) — Cybersecurity, both interpersonally and geopolitically, has been protested over the past few years, sparked by stories of basement hackers breaking into government agency websites, nation-states warring on the dark web and hacktivists acting in the name of civil disobedience for political and social change.

The Path to Achieving TSA Pipeline Cybersecurity Directive Compliance

(P&GJ) — Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount had to make two difficult decisions on May 7, 2021, after a ransom note was discovered by an employee in a control-room computer. First, he acknowledged that the pipeline system that provides close to 45% of the fuel for the East Coast had to be shut down. Second, he authorized the $4.4 million ransom payment.

API Summarizes Enhanced Pipeline Leak Detection Standards

(P&GJ) — Leak prevention, mitigation and detection are critical to ensure pipelines operate safely and reliably to protect the public, workers, the environment and pipeline assets.

Sweden Sends Diving Vessel to Investigate Nord Stream Pipelines After Leak

Sweden sent a diving vessel on Monday to the site of Russian gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea that ruptured last week following blasts in the area, to probe an incident that has added new tension to Europe's energy crisis.

Putin Accuses West of Blowing Up Pipelines as Europe Steps Up Vigilance

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday blamed the United States and its allies for blowing up the undersea Nord Stream pipelines, raising the temperature in a crisis that has left Europe racing to secure its energy infrastructure and supplies.

Kremlin Rejects Claims Russia Attacked Nord Stream Gas Pipelines

The Kremlin on Wednesday said claims that Russia was somehow behind a possible attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines were stupid, adding that the United States had opposed the pipelines and its companies had made big profits supplying gas to Europe.

EU Vows to Protect Energy Network After 'Sabotage' of Russian Gas Pipeline

The European Union on Wednesday promised a "robust" response to any intentional disruption of its energy infrastructure after saying it suspected sabotage was behind gas leaks discovered this week on subsea Russian pipelines to Europe.