Oil/Gas Pipelines
Over $720 billion in works for natural gas pipeline projects across the globe
Currently, North America’s natural gas network includes over 400,000 km (250,000 miles) of pipeline. East Asia is projected to increase its pipeline network by over 50%. South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are projected to increase their pipeline network by 88% and a whopping 282%, respectively.
Newsline
California OKs new rules for turning wastewater into drinking water; CGA’s DIRT report correlates infrastructure investment with increased excavation damage; EIA forecasts 20 Bcf/d boost for U.S. LNG export terminals with new pipelines and more in UI's January Newsline!
Summit Carbon Solutions secures 80% right-of-way in North Dakota for carbon capture project
Summit Carbon Solutions has acquired 80% of the Right-of-Way (ROW) needed for its proposed carbon capture, transport, and storage project across North Dakota.
Canadian regulators deny FortisBC Energy’s natural gas pipeline plans
The British Columbia Utilities Commission denied FortisBC Energy Inc.’s application for its Okanagan Capacity Upgrade project, which includes the construction, installation, and operation of approximately 30 km of new natural gas pipeline.
Kinder Morgan acquires South Texas natural gas pipeline systems from NextEra Energy for $1.8 billion
Kinder Morgan, Inc. closed on its $1.815 billion acquisition of NextEra Energy Partners’ South Texas assets, which includes a set of integrated, large diameter high pressure natural gas pipeline systems that connect the Eagle Ford basin to key growing Mexico and Gulf Coast demand markets.
Federal regulators give more time to complete gas pipeline extension in Virginia, North Carolina
The builders of a proposed natural gas pipeline that will enter North Carolina from Virginia now have another 2 1/2 years to complete the project after federal regulators pushed back a deadline for the work.
Regulators report no signs of pollution after Olympic Pipeline gas spill in Washington
About 25,660 gallons (97,100 liters) of gasoline spilled after a small tube leading from the main Olympic Pipeline to a pressure-check valve failed on Sunday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a news release.
Montana challenges EPA rule to protect water quality certifications, foster infrastructure development
(UI) — Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and ten other state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule on Dec. 5 stating that it makes "sweeping and unlawful" changes to federal regulations governing state-issued water quality certifications.
US officials want ships to anchor farther from California undersea pipelines, citing 2021 oil spill
Federal officials on Tuesday recommended increasing the distance from undersea pipelines that vessels are allowed to anchor in Southern California, citing a 2021 oil spill they said was caused by ships whose anchors were dragged across a pipeline after a storm.
Biden administration targets US oil and gas industry with new rule on methane emissions
The Biden administration on Saturday issued a final rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, targeting the U.S. oil and natural gas industry for its role in global warming as President Joe Biden seeks to advance his climate legacy.
Michigan regulators approve $500 million Great Lakes tunnel for aging oil pipeline
Michigan officials approved a $500 million plan Friday to encase in a protective tunnel a portion of an aging oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes, leaving just one more regulatory hurdle for the contentious project.
TC Energy secures FERC nod for pipeline expansion project in Virginia
Columbia Gas Transmission's Virginia Reliability Project (VRP) represents a strategic expansion project designed to replace two segments of the existing pipeline system, ensuring a continual and abundant supply of natural gas.
Midstream consolidates, expands ahead of LNG export demand
U.S. midstream companies would be hard-pressed this year to approach the record earnings that many achieved in 2022, but the sharp decline in oil and natural gas prices from last year’s highs hasn’t blunted their expansion efforts.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers change public comment format for Dakota Access oil pipeline review
Pipeline opponents had criticized the meeting because oral testimony was only accepted in private to stenographers in a curtained area in a hotel ballroom.
Format of public comment meetings for Dakota Access oil pipeline upsets opponents
Opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline are taking issue with the format of private oral testimony in meetings for public comment on a draft environmental review of the controversial pipeline.
Feds OK gas pipeline expansion in Pacific Northwest over environmentalist protests
The 1,377-mile (2,216-km) pipeline will run from the Canadian border through a corner of Idaho and into Washington state and Oregon, connecting with a pipeline going into California.
Biden administration wants to count downstream GHG emissions when FERC considers pipeline, power projects
(UI) — The President Biden administration announced its latest effort to throw a wrench in pipeline construction. The Biden Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) wants to rollback Trump administration pro-pipeline changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Enbridge Gas to expand northeastern natural gas pipeline with new capacity open season
The Enbridge Gas Dawn Parkway System is one of the most robust pipeline systems in North America and provides for the movement of natural gas from Enbridge Gas's Dawn Hub to northeastern U.S. markets.
Federal officials release draft environmental review of Dakota Access oil pipeline
The draft was released more than three years after a federal judge ordered the environmental review and revoked the permit for the Missouri River crossing, upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation.
Duke Energy methane emissions monitoring platform to receive federal funding
The company's current methane-monitoring platform – which has reduced recordable leaks by more than 85% since the beginning of 2022 – uses satellites, sensors and other cutting-edge technologies to detect leaks and measure real-time methane emissions on underground natural gas distribution systems.
Iowa utility regulators begin hearing on proposed Summit CO2 pipeline
Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed $5.5 billion, 2,000-mile pipeline network would carry CO2 from 34 ethanol plants in five states to North Dakota for storage deep underground — a project involving carbon capture technology, which has attracted both interest and scrutiny in the U.S.
Federal court dismisses challenge to Mountain Valley Pipeline construction
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, sided with lawyers from Mountain Valley Pipeline in dismissing challenges to the project by environmental groups over concerns about the pipeline’s impact on endangered species, erosion and stream sedimentation.
New permitting provisions in budget bill slight natural gas industry
(UI) — The natural gas industry greeted the permitting reform bill Congress passed, and President Biden signed last month with something short of enthusiasm. The permitting provisions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 had only glancing benefits for gas pipelines and were chiefly written to benefit wind, solar and electric energy deployment.
Wood delivers 2,000 miles of low carbon pipeline projects in North America
(UI) — Wood has announced that it is delivering concept and front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies for nearly 2,000 miles of onshore low-carbon pipelines in North America.
Oil pipeline construction breaches Minnesota aquifer for fourth time
Officials said Enbridge is working to fix the rupture, in which the layer of earth above an aquifer is punctured, causing the water to leak to the surface and possibly introducing pollutants.
Supreme Court allows construction to resume on Mountain Valley Pipeline
Work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline had been blocked by the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, even after Congress ordered the project’s approval as part of the bipartisan bill to increase the debt ceiling. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in June.
W.Va. asks Supreme Court to set aside ruling that blocks Mountain Valley Pipeline construction
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey argued that the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, lacked jurisdiction to block the Mountain Valley Pipeline. In a statement Monday, he said any challenges to Congress’ action must be heard by a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C.
Cheniere Energy plans new natural gas pipeline for Sabine Pass expansion
Cheniere Energy’s Chief Operating Officer, Corey Grindal, said that the company is considering plans to build a new pipeline linking its Sabine Pass expansion project to other shale-gas infrastructure.
Federal investigators find leaking natural gas pipe fitting at site of Pa. factory explosion that killed seven
The older fitting had a known tendency to crack, and it was added to a federal government list of pipe materials with “poor performance histories” in 2007, the safety board said. But it was left in place during utility work two years ago and remained connected to the natural gas system.
Mountain Valley urges US Supreme Court to lift stays and resume pipeline construction
(UI) — Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC has submitted a request to the U.S. Supreme Court to lift stays issued by a federal court that had stopped work on a section of its West Virginia-to-Virginia natural gas pipeline.
- Deadline to submit abstracts for Underground Infrastructure Conference's 30th anniversary education program extended to July 19
- Drilling under the LSU campus
- OSHA investigation launched after worker found unconscious in Kansas City, Mo., sewer pipe
- 26th annual directional drilling survey: More fuel on the fire
- Restoring power to Minnesota’s northwest angle
- Vermeer Debuts New Horizontal Directional Drill
- Sewer maintenance: Myth-busting, best-practice training
- Berkeley pushes PG&E to bury power lines to mitigate wildfire risk
- Houston faces hurdles in transitioning to underground power lines amid severe weather concerns
- Calgary declares state of emergency over water pipeline repairs