Oil/Gas Pipelines

Editor’s Log: Stampede

(UI) — The President Biden Administration’s narrative has been to mercilessly shun, blame and attack “big-oil” companies, gas companies and any pipeline ever built as the root of environmental evil. The President has used his bully pulpit to supplement his unending rules and regulations against oil and gas, as the way to achieve the “carbon-free” goal of his zealous backers.

NA Pipeline Construction Outlook

(UI) — Seldom has a new year arrived with the degree of supply and demand uncertainty facing global energy markets at the start of 2023. Months of soaring oil and natural gas prices gave way in late 2022 as oil demand projections softened on recessionary fears and Europe’s months-long buying spree filled its natural gas storage levels to near capacity.

Washington Watch: EPA Ups Ante on Pipeline Methane Emissions

(UI) — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has once again proposed to tighten the vise on interstate pipeline methane emissions. Its supplemental Clean Air regulatory proposal, in November this year, doubles down on a never-finalized recommended rule issued in November 2021, which the transmission industry slammed for unrealistic emission controls.

EPA, TC Energy agree to clean up oil discharge from Keystone pipeline rupture

(UI) — TC Oil Pipeline Operations Inc. has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up the oil discharge that occurred Dec. 7 in Washington County, Kansas, as a result of a rupture in a section of the Keystone Pipeline.

Damaged section of Keystone pipeline to be examined following explosion

(UC) — TC Energy has until early March, or 90 days after PHMSA issued a corrective action order, to complete the metallurgical test in order to determine the primary factors that contributed to the line's failure.

PODS releases new data model, standard with ILI module for pipeline operators

(UC) — The Pipeline Open Data Standard (PODS) data model provides the database architecture pipeline operators need to submit regulatory reports, store critical information, analyze pipeline systems data, and manage geospatial data in a linear-referenced database which can be visualized in any GIS platform.

Company starting to recover oil from Kansas pipeline spill

The company operating a pipeline that spilled about 14,000 bathtubs' worth of oil into a Kansas creek during a test for potential problems is recovering at least a small portion of the crude.

Washington Watch: FERC Rejects Environmental Concerns About Gas Pipeline Projects

(UC) — The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) continues to dispatch environmental objections to pipeline projects. Even Chairman Richard Glick, who had originally made reducing greenhouse gas emissions his guiding light, is turning a deaf ear.

Oil spill in rural Kansas creek shuts down Keystone pipeline

Canada-based TC Energy said it shut down its Keystone system Wednesday night following a drop in pipeline pressure. It said oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (241 km) northwest of Kansas City.

HardRock Directional Drilling expands business with Raymond Construction partnership

(UI) — HardRock Directional Drilling LLC has partnered with J&J Raymond Construction LLC, creating the new entity HardRock Infrastructure Services, the company announced on Dec. 1. This partnership expands HardRock's reach into the natural gas utilities industry and adds high-quality crews and equipment to the HardRock fleet.

Biden asks Congress for $500 million to modernize underground oil reserves

(UC) — In a document submitted to Congress, the Biden administration has requested $500 million from Congress to modernize the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve, Reuters reported. When petroleum is taken out and replaced, the hollowed-out, underground salt caverns where the SPR oil is kept may shift and need repair. The facility's steel pumps and equipment are moreover continuously blasted with corrosive, damp, salty air.

NTSB: Valve leak fueled 2021 pipeline blast that killed 2

A valve leak and a spark of unknown origin combined to cause a North Texas natural gas pipeline explosion last year that killed two workers and injured two others, federal investigators said.

US military to begin draining Pearl Harbor pipelines

The U.S. military said it’s ready to begin draining 1 million gallons of fuel from three pipelines as part of an initial step toward closing a World War II-era fuel storage facility that leaked petroleum into Pearl Harbor’s tap water last year.

July 2021 pipeline break leaked 714,000 gallons of wastewater, not 36,000

A wastewater spill from a pipeline break last year in the northwestern North Dakota oil patch was 20 times greater than first reported, the state Department of Environmental Quality said.

Jury decides $10.4 million award for Portland natural gas explosion trauma

Lawyers for gas leak investigator Eric Rader and stylist Kristen Prentice said both suffered life-altering changes, including post-traumatic stress disorder, after an excavator hit a buried gas pipeline Oct. 19, 2016.

Plastic Pipes Institute introduces free online Conduit Design Calculator

Plastic Pipes Institute introduced a free online calculator that allows you to input your project details and tells you the safe wall thickness for your intended installation.

Illinois firm settles for $2.5 million in 2017 fatal pipeline construction explosion case

An Illinois company has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle safety charges from an explosion that killed three welders and injured seven at a Louisiana containerboard mill in 2017, as well as other alleged safety violations.

New report shows oil spills from offshore transportation way down

Oil and natural gas spills from tankers and pipelines in U.S. waters dropped dramatically from the last decade of the 1990s to the one from 2010 through 2019, according to a federal report.

Common Ground Alliance white paper highlights natural gas distribution stakeholders’ role in damage prevention

Common Ground Alliance announced the publication of a White Paper based on research among natural gas distribution stakeholders that points to this group’s influential position in the damage prevention industry and actions stakeholders can take to drive damages down.

Judge approves $230 million settlement in California oil spill case

The corroded undersea pipeline ruptured north of Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County, northwest of Los Angeles. All American Pipeline later estimated that 142,800 gallons spilled.

NTSB opens public docket for investigation into fatal Coolidge, Ariz. pipeline rupture

(UC) — The National Transportation Safety Board opened the public docket Thursday as part of its ongoing investigation of the fatal, Aug. 15, 2021, natural gas transmission pipeline rupture and fire near Coolidge, Arizona.

Natural gas pipeline fire in water SE of New Orleans

Federal agencies investigated a natural gas pipeline explosion that started a towering blaze in a lake southeast of New Orleans on September 8, 2022. Preliminary information indicates a barge broke loose from its mooring and hit the pipeline, according to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

FERC Rate Change Posting Proposal Controversial

Responding to a June 2021 petition from interstate pipeline customers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed upgraded website posting requirements when pipelines file for a Section 4 rate change.

Oil company settles criminal cases in California pipeline spill

An oil company pleaded guilty in federal court to negligently discharging crude off the Southern California coast when its underwater pipeline ruptured last year, a spill that closed miles of shoreline and shuttered fisheries.

Oil spill settlement for undisclosed amount reached with California businesses

A pipeline operator said that it has reached a settlement with Southern California tourism companies, fishermen and other businesses that sued after a crude oil spill off the coast last year near Huntington Beach.

New Mexico oilfield regulators reach $1.8 million settlement with company

State oil and gas regulators say they have reached a financial settlement with XTO Permian Operating to resolve violation notices at wastewater injection sites in southeastern New Mexico.

Oilfield wastewater spill reported in northwest North Dakota

State regulators are investigating the spill of oilfield wastewater from a broken pipeline in northwestern North Dakota.

Idaho-Wyoming gas pipeline needs environmental study for approval

U.S. officials won’t approve a natural gas pipeline from Idaho to Wyoming until additional environmental studies are completed.

Australia's Santos buys underground gas pipeline route

Australia's Santos Ltd. said on Thursday it has acquired Hunter Gas Pipeline Pty Ltd., which owns an approved underground pipeline route, and plans to work with infrastructure developers to build the planned 550-mile pipeline.

Pipeline developer reaches settlement in residential water contamination case

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Operating agreed to independent testing of homeowners' water and promised to remediate contamination in a settlement of two separate criminal cases brought by the Pennsylvania attorney general.