Regulation

Brazil's Antitrust Body Postpones Deadline for Petrobras Asset Sales

Brazil's antitrust authority CADE postponed deadlines for divestitures by state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, including its refineries, natural gas pipelines and its stakes in natural gas distribution companies.

U.S. Senate to Vote on Measure to Reverse Methane Rule Rollbacks

The Senate lead sponsor of the bill said that restoring those rules, which targeted methane leaks from new wells as well as pipelines, capture the "lion's share" of methane emissions.

New Policy Formalizes FERC Use of GHG Emissions

A Republican commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission took the unusual step of advising interstate pipeline and LNG companies to get ready to have pending applications for construction upended by the order FERC issued on March 23 by a vote of 3-2.

Colonial Pipeline Increases Estimate of Gasoline Spilled in North Carolina

New data shows the amount of gasoline released in Mecklenburg County’s Oehler Nature Preserve exceeds Colonial Pipeline’s 1.2-million-gallon estimate.

Judge Orders Army Corps Update on Dakota Access Pipeline by May 3

A federal judge ordered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide an update by May 3 on when it plans to complete an environmental review of the Dakota Access oil pipeline and whether it recommends the line should shut during the review process.

Canada's Trans Mountain Ordered to Suspend Oil Line Expansion to Protect Hummingbird Nests

The Canadian government has ordered Trans Mountain Corp to halt work on a section of its oil pipeline expansion project in Burnaby, British Columbia, for four months to protect hummingbird nests.

Frustrated Canada Presses White House to Keep Great Lakes Oil Pipeline Open

Enbridge said shutting Line 5 would cause fuel shortages and gas price spikes, and require 15,000 trucks and 800 rail cars a day to replace deliveries to Ontario.

U.S. Appeals Court Denies Dakota Access Pipeline Rehearing Request

A U.S. Appeals Court on Friday denied Dakota Access LLC's petition for a rehearing on an earlier court decision to cancel a key permit for the DAPL oil pipeline, court documents show.

Equinor LNG Plant Broke Rules Ahead of 2020 Fire, Watchdog Says

Equinor must fix a series of rule breaches exposed by a fire at its Melkoeya LNG plant in Norway last year for the plant to reopen, the country's safety watchdog said on Thursday.

Chevron Lobbies U.S. Officials on Myanmar as Sanctions Pressure Rises

U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp lobbied lawmakers and government officials to protect its energy interests in Myanmar during the first quarter, as the administration of President Joe Biden comes under pressure to impose sanctions against the south Asian country’s military junta.

U.S. Senate Panel Advances Bill to Aid Ukraine, Pressure Nord Stream 2

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced a bill to deliver aid to Ukraine in its struggle with Russia and pressure companies helping to build Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that could deprive Kyiv of lucrative transit fees.

U.S. Makes ‘Game Changing’ Pledge at Climate Summit to Cut Emissions 50% by 2030

The Biden administration pledged at a U.S. climate summit attended by world leaders to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, a target it hopes will spur other big countries to raise their ambition to combat global warming.

Michigan Regulator to Weigh Climate Impact of Enbridge Oil Line Tunnel

A state of Michigan regulator said on Wednesday it will consider the impact of climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions when deciding whether Enbridge Inc can build an underwater tunnel to rehouse a four-mile (6-km) section of its Line 5 oil pipeline.

Dakota Access Argues Pipeline Closure Would Cause 'Economic Shock'

The operators of the DAPL argued to a federal court that the system's shutdown would be even more harmful than previously anticipated, in their final plea to keep the line open after a key permit was scrapped.

Feds Critical of GOM Pipeline Abandonment Policy

The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report that found the Department of Energy does not have “a robust oversight process” for ensuring the integrity of about 8,600 miles of active offshore oil and gas pipelines on the sea floor of the Gulf of Mexico.

DAPL Closure Could Shut 400,000 bpd of N. Dakota Oil

Energy Transfer LP is in the middle of a years-long legal fight to keep open its 557,000-bpd pipeline, the largest out of the Bakken shale region of North Dakota and Montana, as U.S. officials conduct an environmental review of the line.

PennEast Pipeline Faces New Jersey in Supreme Court Hearing Next Week

PennEast Pipeline Company is expected in the U.S. Supreme Court next week, according to the court’s schedule.

Equitrans Midstream Supports Methane Reduction Efforts

Equitrans Midstream supports the U.S. oil and gas industry's ongoing efforts to reduce methane emissions and reaffirms its prior opposition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rollback of methane regulations in 2020.

Canadian Lawmakers Call for Action in Michigan Pipeline Dispute

Canadian lawmakers urged the leaders of the United States and Canada to take further steps to resolve a dispute between Enbridge Inc and the state of Michigan over the cross-border Line 5 oil pipeline.

Failed Fitting Led to 1,200 Barrel Oil Leak from Trans Mountain Pipeline

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada completed its investigation into a June 2020 release of crude oil at the Trans Mountain Sumas pump station in British Columbia, determining a 1-inch pipeline fitting was the source of the leak.

Canada's Energy Industry Will Shape the Future

It has been another tough couple of weeks for the pipeline industry. Keystone XL lost its Presidential Permit. A critical infrastructure project that would have delivered immense benefits on both sides of the border, cancelled as an act of backward-looking political symbolism by the President of the United States on his very first day in office.

Tank Car Impact Tests Take Aim at Safety Concerns

Tank cars transport roughly 2 million shipments of hazardous materials (hazmat), carrying goods that are essential to North America’s economy, public health and quality of life. Railroad safety is the key to making it all work. Rail is recognized as the safest mode of transportation for moving bulk shipments of hazardous materials.

FERC Kicks Off Broad Pipeline Approval Re-Examination

Clouds are gathering over future pipeline construction as the Biden administration’s environmental focus begins to seep into Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiatives.

U.S. Army Corps Allows Dakota Pipeline to Stay Open During Review

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today said it will allow Energy Transfer's Dakota Access oil pipeline to keep running, after an environmental permit was scrapped last year.

New PHMSA Rules Ease Burdens, Maintains Safety

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) re-examination of the Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations should ease regulatory burdens on the construction, maintenance and operation of gas transmission, distribution and gathering pipeline systems, according to the final rule in the Federal Register.

EPA Chief: Biden Admin's Methane Emission Curbs to Exceed Obama's

The Biden administration’s curbs on methane will be more ambitious than those imposed by former President Barack Obama and will go a long way to helping the United States achieve its overall targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade.

U.S. Army Corps to Lay Out Plans for Dakota Access Pipeline Review at Hearing

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to lay out its recommendations on the Dakota Access oil pipeline at a federal court hearing today that could involve shutting down the line for several months during an environmental review.

Fate of Dakota Access Pipeline at Stake at Friday Court Hearing

The fate of the Dakota Access pipeline could be decided at a U.S. court hearing Friday, where federal regulators could set in motion a months-long shutdown of the line while the Biden Administration completes an environmental review.

NTSB Looks to Improve Pipeline Leak Detection and Mitigation

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board named improving pipeline leak detection and mitigation as an item on its “Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements” for 2021-2022, the agency announced.

Improving Natural Gas Distribution Systems to Ease Pressure Risks

This article examines redundant overpressure protection (OPP) requirements at the city gates in the U.S. and how several operators are at risk of noncompliance as states begin to enforce redundant OPP requirements specifically at the city gates.