Regulation
New State Budget Allows Texas Railroad Commission to Better Serve Oil, Gas Industry
The budget includes new funding to enhance the RRC’s work serving public safety and environmental protection, including hiring up to 50 new pipeline safety inspectors to inspect thousands of more miles of pipelines in Texas.
Canadian Regulator Raises Pipeline Abandonment Cost Estimate to Over $14 Billion
The increase means most of the 93 companies whose Canadian pipelines are regulated by the CER will face higher abandonment costs, the regulator said.
Useful Considerations for CO2, Hydrogen Pipeline Operators
(P&GJ) — When a pipeline operator becomes a “common carrier” under Texas law, it is granted the power of eminent domain over private property for public use. Texas law provides two independent sources for common carrier status: Texas Natural Resources Code Section 111 and Texas Business Organizations Code Section 2.105. Common carrier status is critical to pipeline projects in Texas, especially when easements are difficult to obtain.
Adapting ROW Strategies to Sustainability, Public Perception
(P&GJ) — Pipeline infrastructure and operations raise two common concerns among landowners and other public entities: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ecosystem disturbance.
Proactive Integrity Management for Pipeline River Crossings
(P&GJ) — The selection of appropriate pipeline routes is critical for reducing the impact of geotechnical and hydrotechnical hazards. Many hazards, including water crossings, can be avoided by careful route planning.
US Hopes to Buy 12 Million Barrels of Oil for Reserve This Year
The Biden administration hopes to buy back at least 12 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve this year, including six million already announced, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
DNV Grants Safety Certification to Project Greensand's CO2 Storage in the North Sea
(P&GJ) — The project is the first in the world to demonstrate that CO2 can be transported across national borders and stored offshore to mitigate climate change. The safety verification covers everything from the fabrication by the individual subcontractors to the actual offshore installation.
New Water Permit Brings 303-Mile Mountain Valley Gas Pipeline Closer to 2023 Completion
Analysts at Height Capital Markets, an investment banking and research firm, said language supporting Mountain Valley in the recently approved U.S. Fiscal Responsibility Act and issuance of the West Virginia permit "significantly raises the probability of a 2023 placed-in-service date" for the project.
US Buys 3 Million Barrels for Oil Stockpile, Announces Plan for 3 Million More
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it awarded supply contracts to five companies to deliver 3 million barrels of crude oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in August at an average price of $73 per barrel.
LNG Developer Venture Global Spars with Customers Over Cargoes
Venture Global LNG, which is building three multibillion-dollar U.S. LNG processing plants, is sparring with two customers of its first project over mechanical failures that have prevented commercial deliveries a year after initial shipments began.
Rising Imports, Falling Exports Push US Trade Deficit to Six-Month High
The U.S. trade deficit widened by the most in eight years in April as imports of goods rebounded while exports of energy products declined, a trend that if sustained, could result in trade being a drag on economic growth in the second quarter.
Canada's Trans Mountain Seeks Toll Approval for Expanded Oil Pipeline
Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain Corp. has applied to regulators for tolls on its long-delayed 590,000 bpd pipeline expansion to Canada's west coast, noting shipping fees would increase if the project costs mount.
Explainer: Black Sea Grain Deal Could Hinge on Ammonia Pipeline
The pipeline used by Russia to pump up to 2.5 million tonnes of ammonia annually for global export to Ukraine's Pivdennyi port on the Black Sea from Togliatti on the Volga River in western Russia has been shut down since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
US Had Intelligence of Ukrainian Plan to Attack Nord Stream Pipeline - Washington Post
The United States had intelligence of a detailed Ukrainian plan to attack the Nord Stream pipeline three months before it was bombed, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing leaked information posted online.
Debt Ceiling Bill Passage Clears Mountain Valley Pipeline to Proceed with Construction, Operation
(P&GJ) — The legislation requires the Secretary of the Army to issue all permits or verifications necessary to complete project construction and allow for MVP's operation and maintenance. The legislation also divests courts of jurisdiction to review agency actions on approvals necessary for MVP construction and initial operation.
Commonwealth LNG Expects First US Export Permit in June
Commonwealth LNG expects the U.S. Department of Energy to approve a license as early as next month that would allow it to export LNG, according to Executive Chairman Paul Varello.
Canada Commits to Backing $2.2 Billion in New Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Loans
The Canadian government is backing up to $2.24 billion in loans for Trans Mountain Corp., the crown corporation building an over-budget, long-delayed oil pipeline expansion to Canada's Pacific Coast.
Analysis: US Debt Deal's Energy Permitting Reforms Leave Thorniest Issues for Later
The bipartisan U.S. debt deal's provisions to speed up energy infrastructure permitting will make it easier to build fossil fuel and clean energy projects but failed to tackle the mammoth issue of building transmission and pipelines needed to get their production to consumers.
Equitrans Midstream Shares Make Record Gains on US Debt Ceiling Deal
Shares of Equitrans Midstream Corp. jumped on Tuesday after the U.S. debt ceiling deal contained specific proposals that would allow the U.S. energy company to obtain permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Mexico Energy Regulator Gives Natural Gas 'Clean' Label, Drawing Criticism
A move by Mexico's energy regulator to declare some natural gas-fired power as "clean" drew criticism from environmental groups that say the change will not help the country reach its clean energy targets.
FERC Approves TC Energy's US-Mexico North Baja Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion
Canadian pipeline operator TC Energy Corp.'s North Baja Pipeline LLC unit has received permission from U.S. energy regulators to put the North Baja natural gas pipeline expansion in Arizona and California into service.
Biden, McCarthy Debt Deal Could Speed Up Mountain Valley Gas Pipeline Project
Streamlined federal approval for the 303-mile (488-km) project was placed into the text of the budget deal between U.S. President Joe Biden and House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy that may end the debt limit crisis.
US Court Questions Another Permit for Equitrans’ Mountain Valley Natural Gas Pipeline
U.S. energy company Equitrans Midstream Corp.'s long-delayed $6.6 billion Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia received another negative court ruling on Friday.
U.S. State Department Warns China Could Hack Infrastructure, Including Pipelines
The U.S. State Department warned that China could launch cyber attacks against critical infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines after researchers discovered a Chinese hacking group had been spying on such networks.
US Offers Oil, Gas Drilling Rights in First Auction Since Biden's IRA
Biden's Interior Department had attempted to suspend federal oil and gas leasing to study its environmental and climate impacts, but the Inflation Reduction Act that passed last year requires some oil and gas auctions if federal rights of way are offered for renewable energy projects.
Pipeline Operator Energy Transfer Slams US Denial of LNG Extension, Seeks Rehearing
Pipeline operator Energy Transfer slammed the U.S. Department of Energy's denial of an export-permit extension to its Louisiana LNG export project in a DOE filing, seeking a rehearing.
Biden Administration Supports Mountain Valley Pipeline for Second Time in Week
The Biden administration has supported for the second time in a week the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline, a project a key Democratic senator has pushed in legislation to speed permitting of fossil fuel and power transmission projects.
US to Buy 3 Million Barrels to Refill Emergency Oil Reserve
The U.S. Department of Energy said on Monday it will purchase 3 million barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for delivery in August and asked that offers be submitted by May 31.
Alaska LNG Project Clears Legal Challenge, Advances 800-Mile Gas Pipeline
A U.S. appeals court has rejected a lawsuit filed by environmental groups that challenged the federal approvals required for a $39 billion project aimed at transporting natural gas across Alaska, starting from the North Slope. According to a spokesperson, construction on the 800-mile pipeline and related infrastructure has not yet commenced.
Biden Administration Clears Mountain Valley Pipeline for Progress Through Jefferson National Forest
(P&GJ) — The Department of Agriculture's Forest Service issued a record of decision Monday afternoon, allowing the Mountain Valley Pipeline project to cut through a 3.5-mile stretch of the Jefferson National Forest along the West Virginia-Virginia border. The determination clears the way for the project — which is 94% complete but has been mired in a lengthy permitting process for years — to finish construction.
- 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
