June 2010 Vol. 237 No. 6

ABB, a US-based instrumentation manufacturer, has agreed to acquire Prairieville, Louisiana level gauge maker K-TEK in an effort to increase ABB's oil and gas offerings. K-TEK will join the Measurement Products business unit within ABB’s Process Automation division.

Brooks Instrument announced June 14 that Clark Hale has joined the company as president and COO. Hale will be responsible for leading all global operations, quality, material management, procurement and manufacturing engineering functions.

Philip B. Drake has joined Bonacker Interactive as creative director. Drake brings over 20 years experience to the position, including extensive experience in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

Advertisers in the print edition of Pipeline & Gas Journal, June 2010, Vol. 237 No. 6.

Effective June 30, Hal Kvisle will retire from TransCanada, where he has been chief executive since 2001. His successor is Russ Girling. Girling has been a TransCanada employee since 1994 and is the current chairman of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA).

National Fuel Gas Company announced a number of management changes June 14, including the naming of Ronald J. Tanski as president and COO. Tanski previously held the posts of treasurer and principal financial officer of National Fuel, as well as president of National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation.

The National Association of Pipe Coating Applicators (NAPCA) re-elected Merry Brumbaugh and Brendan Ryan to second terms as president and vice president, respectively, at the association’s 46th annual meeting held in April at Indian Wells, CA.

UniversalPegasus International announced June 8 that it has named Gary Hymel as the onshore director of business development.

Every night I tear at the sheets, tossing, turning and hoping by some miracle the news will be better in the morning: that BP will have finally regained control of its runaway well that is causing heartache and angst throughout the nation, the Gulf Coast and the petroleum industry.

Until recently, nationalized oil companies (NOCs) posed a competitive threat to international oil companies (IOCs) only in their home countries. However, a number of factors have now converged to prompt once-isolated NOCs to expand their reach on a global scale.

The eyes of the world continue to be focused on the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as BP mobilizes its full resources to stop the flow of oil and fight the oil spill, which follows the blowout and sinking of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling rig operating in Mississippi Canyon 252 block.

Ghazzoni SpA recently completed an open cut pipeline project on a section of the 72 km Vodnjan-Umag DN 300 methane pipeline that is part of an improvement effort to extend and modernize Croatia’s gas transportation system.

The economic crisis has affected pipeline construction as with many other industries, because of the lack of availability of finance for new projects, and because of the drop in oil and gas prices. However, oil prices are starting to rise again in 2010 and the outlook for pipe coating is very encouraging, according to Noru Tsalic, Consultant at Applied Market Information.

New emissions regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are scheduled to take effect in July and August. The regulations have a potentially large impact on domestic reciprocating engine usage and domestic energy production, but thus far, relatively little attention has been given to them.

There is a saying that one picture is worth a thousand words. After more than 32 years in the natural gas industry, I agree with that saying but with a caveat: it must be the correct picture and it must be presented with a concise and meaningful caption. Then, it will be worth many thousands of words.

Cathodic protection (CP) has slowly become a critical issue in America and beyond. The catalysts for this are: (1) new governmental regulations, (2) stiff penalties for non-compliance, (3) the aging of buried metal assets, and (4) increased scrutiny in the public and private sectors seeking efficiency and the protection of assets.

Remotely located gas compressors can pose a significant operating and maintenance challenge. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are often used to address this challenge, but to be cost effective, a critical mass of units must be located in close proximity to one another.

An estimated 2.7 million television viewers across the country witnessed the climactic finish of the April 25 NASCAR race in Talladega, FL as driver Kevin Harvick sped past a competitor to capture the lead in the final lap. For Shell, principal sponsor of Harvick’s high-performance car, the event represented a double victory.

Unconventional LNG will play a limited role in the future of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, comprising just 5% of total LNG supply in 2020, according to a consultant’s report. In a video presentation to delegates at LNG16 in Oran last month, Frank Harris, head of LNG Consulting for Wood Mackenzie, reflected on the heightened interest in unconventional LNG supply projects.

It is not unusual for a utility to face obstacles during a major improvement project. But, when construction bids come in higher than expected, it brings an interesting challenge to the table. This was the scenario in Madison, WI last year.

Austria wants to join the South Stream project, a key step toward construction on a pipeline to increase the flow of Russian gas to Europe.

Tenaska Capital Management LLC (TCM) has started construction of TPF II East Texas Gathering LLC (ETG), a major high capacity gas-gathering system with multi-market capacity to serve the Haynesville Shale formation in East Texas.

Aberdeen-based Dominion Gas will become the main supplier of industrial gas for the Nord Stream Project in a deal worth upwards of Euro 2 million.

Dominion has plans to gather, process and transport the growing volumes of high-Btu (wet) Marcellus natural gas production in Marshall and Wetzel counties, WV and surrounding counties in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Energy Transfer Partners announced June 2 the construction of a 63-mile natural gas pipeline that will provide its customers additional transportation, gathering, and treating services in the rapidly expanding Haynesville Shale in East Texas.

Energy Transfer Partners announced June 17 that it has filed an application with FERC requesting authorization of construction and operation of the ETC Tiger Pipeline Expansion Project, Phase I.

Enterprise Products Partners announced June 14 that it has completed repairs to the portion of its partially-owned North Texas natural gas pipeline that was damaged in an explosion June 7 in rural Johnson County, Texas. One person died in the accident.

After Iran and Pakistan signed a recent agreement for a bilateral natural gas pipeline, India asked to reopen negotiations to make the project trilateral.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners plans to modify and expand the existing Cochin Pipeline system to provide a solution for transporting NGLs from the Marcellus Shale Basin to fractionation plants and chemical markets near Sarnia, Ontario, and Chicago.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners launched a 30-day non-binding open season June 14 to further gauge shipper interest for its Marcellus Lateral Project.

A Colonial Pipeline tank containing gasoline caught fire early on June 13 after it was apparently struck by lightning. The Greensboro, NC Fire Department deployed a reported 150 firefighters who worked for six hours to extinguish the fire.

Magellan Midstream Partners L.P. is evaluating the reversal and conversion of a portion of its 18-inch Houston-to-El Paso pipeline (the former Longhorn Pipeline) to crude service.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have agreed on the amount and price for the sale of Azerbaijani gas to Turkey in a deal that paves the way for further progress in pipeline projects between the Caspian and Europe.

Meritage Midstream Services has entered into agreement with Laredo Energy to build a 48-mile high pressure gas-gathering system in Webb County, TX to gather gas produced primarily from the Eagle Ford shale formation.

National Fuel Gas (NFG) announced its Pipeline Supply Corp. and Empire Pipeline subsidiaries have entered binding precedent agreements for the Northern Access and Tioga County Extension pipeline projects, respectively.

Daniel Manicone, recently appointed by Nuovagiungas as resident manager for the Americas, told a news conference that Nuovagiungas will take part in the construction of the Trans-Magellan Gas Pipeline crossing the homonymous strait.

NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage (NGT&S) and MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources, LLC, announced continued joint development of new natural gas gathering, processing, and transmission projects to support increased Marcellus production volumes in the northern West Virginia area of the Appalachian Basin.

Closer ties have emerged between Russia and Ukraine since Viktor Yanukovich was Ukraine's president in February including agreements on gas pricing.

Galp Energia and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure have closed their joint acquisition of certain gas supply and distribution businesses in the Madrid region from Gas Natural Fenosa (Gas Natural).

Responding to its customers in northeast British Columbia, Spectra Energy Corp. launched an open seasons May 7 to assess customer requirements for expanded transportation service on its Transportation North (T-North) system, and for raw gas-gathering and processing service in the Fort Nelson resource area.

On March 30, Stupp Corp. completed the manufacture, coating, shipment and delivery of 90 miles of 36-inch OD, X-70 API-5L PSL2 custom steel line pipe.

TransCanada’s Alberta System has moved ahead with another critical infrastructure project to access Northeast BC shale gas by filing the Horn River Pipeline Project with the National Energy Board (NEB).

Dominion and Exterran Holdings, Inc. will team to provide increased natural gas processing in the Appalachian Basin.

Williams Partners L.P. has placed an expansion of its Transco natural gas pipeline system into service, increasing firm transportation capacity into the Southeast by 253,500 Dth/d.

The world will remain heavily reliant on fossil fuels for the next 40 years, said Shell Chief Executive Peter Voser at an energy conference in Singapore on May 5.

Natural gas is an important energy source for reducing pollution. Compared to coal and oil, combustion of natural gas releases significantly lower amounts of harmful pollutants and carbon dioxide. After its exploration, production and transportation, natural gas can be stored for an indefinite period of time for future use.

The increased use of intelligent inspection pigs to determine the actual wall thickness of pipelines has given rise to the demand for a procedure to remedy wall thinning, laminations and sharp discontinuities, i.e. defects which normally make it necessary to restrict the maximum allowable operating pressure.

Whether it’s the rugged slopes of the Rockies, or the highly erosive, silt loam soil in Mississippi, Profile Products LLC says it offers effective solutions for pipeline construction and restoration projects. Utilizing a total approach to vegetative establishment, Profile® focuses on Green Design Engineering™ as the foundation to provide innovative products and trusted project consultation and execution.

Georg Fischer Central Plastics of Shawnee, OK reported that the Mid-Tex Division of Atmos Energy Corporation recently completed a 6,000-foot installation of 4-inch, DR-11, Hyperplast™ Polyamide-11 pipe near Corsicana, TX. The total installed cost of this project is said to be comparable to that of steel pipe and, unlike steel, the Hyperplast™ system requires no corrosion protection now or in the future.

After a 5% decline in 2009, the valve industry appears to have stabilized and will probably see some minor growth this year, according to a new report from the Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA).

On any given day, you can walk through the doors of Industrial Fabrics, Inc. of Baton Rouge, LA and find owner, Cary S. Goss, in the boardroom. He is busy touching base with his staff, strategically planning the week ahead.

Operators of large, lean-burn natural gas or diesel engines – 2,000-10,000 hp, used in gas compression, power generation and other applications – now have an innovative option that combines state-of-the-art emissions reduction with a design that aims to dramatically cut maintenance labor and risks.

What's new from Cameron Compression Systems, Step-Ko, CECO, Phoenix Building Systems, Environmental Noise Control, Exterran Holdings, Computerized Processes Unlimited, HB Rentals, GE Intelligent Platforms, iicorr, Mueller Environmental Designs, New Century Software, Senscient and American Innovations.