Operations

Apache Corp Halting Permian Gas Production Due to Lack of Pipelines

Oil and gas producer Apache Corp said on Tuesday it temporarily halted production at its Alpine High assets in the Permian basin late March, curtailing output of about 250 million cubic feet of natural gas per day because of extremely low prices.

New Concho-Frontier JV to Construct Midland Basin Gathering System

Concho Resources and Frontier Midstream Solutions IV have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture, Beta Crude Connector, LLC (BCC), to build and provide crude oil gathering, transportation and storage services in the Northern Midland Basin.

API-AOPL Annual Report Shows Liquids Pipeline Incidents Down Significantly

The American Petroleum Institute (API), in coordination with the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) has released the 2019 API-AOPL Liquids Pipeline Performance Report, which details a 20% decrease in liquids pipeline incidents impacting people or the environment over the last five years despite increases in both pipeline mileage and barrels delivered.

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.

Project Delays Sink Oil Sands Output in 2019

Canadian Oil Sands production in 2019 will be almost 230,000 b/d lower than last year, according to ESAI Energy’s recently published North America Watch.

Con Edison Halts Gas Hookups, Citing Interstate Pipeline Constraints

Consolidated Edison Inc said it will impose a moratorium on new natural gas service in parts of New York's Westchester County to protect system reliability due to limited space on interstate pipelines to the region.

At Least 5 Killed in Iran Gas Pipeline Explosion

A gas pipeline explosion in southwestern Iran killed at least five people and injured six, the Tasnim news agency reported.

Andax

Andax Andax introduced the Xtreme Shell Pipe Flange Containment System, a reusable, hard containment shell designed to fully enclose a pipe flange, manifold or any other leak point. The drain hose diverts the leak to a closed container, thereby reducing the potential dange..

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..

Parker

Parker Protecting gas turbines and compressors from dust, sand, moisture, salt and other contaminants is vital to performance and reliability. The TS1000 coalescer from Parker has been specifically developed for regions such as the Middle East and other places where this c..

Pure Safety Group

Pure Safety Group Pure Safety Group (PSG) unveiled its Guardian Fall Protection S1 safety harness, which is the first in a series of innovative new harnesses designed with three levels of features for various work scenarios. All harnesses meet OSHA standards, while exceedi..

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.

Corrosion Protection Through New Cost-Effective Coating

A growing number of proactive companies are going beyond traditional techniques that have only slowed corrosion. They are turning to a new category of tough, chemically bonded phosphate ceramics (CBPCs) that can stop carbon steel corrosion, extend equipment life, and minimize the cost and production downtime required to recoat, repair, or replace equipment.

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.

PHMSA and Advisory Group Finalizing New Safety Program

A Voluntary Information Sharing (VIS) advisory group, working with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), voted to recommend a new, industry-wide safety reporting program in which employees, in a “no-fear” environment, would report pipeline operational and infrastructure risks and hazards. Reports would be “de-identified” and centralized. The goal is that potential problems would be found and corrected before they worsened, possibly becoming emergency situations.

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.

Storage Tanks Explode at Venezuela Heavy Oil Project

Two storage tanks have exploded at the Petro San Felix heavy-crude upgrading project in eastern Venezuela, according to an oil industry source and a legislator.

Panhandle Eastern Capacity Reduced by Missouri Pipeline Blast

Energy Transfer said it has reduced mainline capacity on its Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line system after a fiery rupture downstream of its Centralia Compressor Station. The blast caused no serious injuries, but power to several homes was interrupted, authorities said.

Lithuania to Ask Belarus to Switch Nuclear Plant to Gas

Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis will ask Belarus to convert its Russian-built nuclear power plant to gas provided by Lithuania’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and a planned gas link between Lithuania and Poland.

Navigator Announces Glass Mountain Expansion, Extended Voyager Open Season

Navigator Energy Services said it will significantly expand its Glass Mountain Pipeline System (GMP) with new segregated crude grades, more storage and transportation capacity, additional origin points and expanded market access at Cushing. It also extended its open season with Magellan Midstream for their proposed 500-mile Voyager Pipeline.

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.

Pipeline Management Office Proves Beneficial to Pipeline Digs

The Digs Project Management Office (PMO) is often referred to as the “Big PMO” because of its sheer volume of work and its potential effect to the pipeline assets and its stakeholders.

How the IIoT and Edge Computing are Transforming Pipeline Management

Forward-looking pipeline operators are turning to industrial internet of things (IIoT) technologies, including distributed sensors and edge computing systems that push intelligence right to the pumping or compressor stations or other field locations.

Ensuring LNG Liquefaction Facilities’ System Tightness

By Nirmal Surendran Menon, Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), New Zealand  System “tightness testing” is the last stage before inerting (the introduction of a non-combustible gas into a closed system) and the introduction of hydrocarbon and is a vital safety step in the start-up sequence..

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.

CEPA Seeks Common Ground on Bill C-69

Canada’s energy transmission pipeline companies are clear on what amendments they would like to see, and we ask the Canadian government to take the time to get this right.

FERC OKs Part of Gulf XPress Pipeline for Service

FERC has approved a request by TransCanada Corp's Columbia unit to put part of the company's $600 million Gulf XPress natural gas pipeline into service in Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Bakken Shale: North Dakota's Growth Engine

The Bakken Shale play has catapulted sparsely populated North Dakota to the No. 2 oil-producing state behind Texas, eclipsing historically oil-rich states such as Alaska and California.

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.