August 2016, Vol. 243, No. 8

Archive

Company & Association News

Business

Association News Members of the Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada (PLCAC) elected the following officers at its 62nd annual convention: President Neil Waugh of NPL Canada, First Vice President Lyall Nash of Testco Western, Second Vice President Paul Schultz of Premay Pipeline Hauling and ..

Energetic Women Empowering Utilities

Are you a leader? Female leaders have a unique perspective and set of skills to empower teambuilding, problem solving, and decision making – abilities that are beneficial to all industries, including energy delivery. MEA’s Energetic Women, a resource group for women in the energy delivery industry,..

How Pipeline Safety Programs Really Work

State pipeline inspectors are the first line of defense at the community level to enforce pipeline safety rules and regulations (state and federal rules), and in many cases, inspect and enforce state underground utility damage prevention laws. The pipelines inspected by the state programs include g..

IPLOCA – 50 Years of Achievement

IPLOCA is a not for profit organisation with the mission to provide value to members through a forum for sharing ideas, engaging the industry and its stakeholders, facilitating business opportunities and promoting the highest standards in the pipeline industry. The association is committed to nurtu..

IPLOCA Awards

What are the IPLOCA Awards?  What is the rationale behind them, when were they first introduced and how are they adjudicated? Mission and Objectives Reflecting IPLOCA’s mission of providing value to members and promoting the highest standards in the pipeline industry, the association progressively..

IPLOCA President Atul Punj Overviews His Agenda

Atul Punj is president of the International Pipe Line & Offshore Contractors Association (IPLOCA), headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. He is also chairman of Punj Lloyd, a diversified conglomerate providing engineering and construction services in energy and infrastructure, with interests in the d..

IPLOCA’s 50th Anniversary Convention – A Return to Our Origins

This year’s special convention will be a return to IPLOCA’s origins, taking place in Paris where the association was first established on 20 June 1966. What better place to celebrate than in the City of Light, soaked in its own history! At the IPLOCA annual convention, during a series of technical ..

Latest News on IPLOCA ‘s Activities

When asked what or who is IPLOCA, you may immediately think of the annual IPLOCA Convention, a unique forum that attracts between 500 and 650 top leaders of worldwide companies to attend five days of technical presentations, business meetings and a social and cultural programme, providing opportunit..

NACE President Has Faith He Can Make an Impact

NACE International’s 2016 President Alexander I. “Sandy” Williamson is on a mission and its core tenets can be found in his organization’s newly released Impact study, a groundbreaking document that provides economic information designed to stress the return on investment for taking corrosion preven..

TPAA Celebrates Decade of Service

In 2006 several of Texas’ largest pipeline distribution and transmission companies joined together to form The Texas Pipeline Awareness Alliance (TPAA). The group commissioned the creation of television, radio and print ads using American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practice (RP) 1162, “Pu..

Editor's Notebook

Editor's Notebook: Mourning the Loss of a Great Man

During these troubled times every day when I go to work it seems our flag is at half-staff. On this day, my heart was at half-staff as I learned that Phil Burguieres died June 30. He was a very special businessman; he was a very special man. Burguieres had two careers that led him to prominence in ..

Features

2016 Midyear International Construction Outlook

P&GJ’s 2016 survey figures show 47,693 miles of pipelines are planned or under construction. Of these, 19,115 miles are in the planning and design phase, while 28,578 miles are in various stages of construction. The following reflect pipeline mileage in the six geopolitical regions discussed in the..

Chevron, Wolverine Win Top Pipeline Safety Awards

API awarded its 2015 Distinguished Safety and Environmental Award to Chevron Pipe Line Company and Wolverine Pipe Line Company. This is API’s highest safety and environmental performance award for pipeline operators and was presented to the companies at API’s 67th annual pipeline conference in Carls..

Dakota Access Pipeline: A New Artery for Bakken Crude     

The past two years (2015-16) will not be remembered as anything like the preceding ones of robust growth when new energy infrastructure was sprouting up like weeds, particularly on the North Dakota prairie atop the Bakken Shale play, and Justin Kringstad has had a front row seat on the roller coaste..

Dutch-owned Gasunie at Heart of ‘Magic Gas Roundabout’

Gasunie, the Dutch state-owned gas infrastructure company worth more than 10 billion euros, lies at the heart of Northwest Europe’s gas transmission network. The system consists of a gas transmission grid in the Netherlands and parts of northern Germany. Its interconnected pipeline network links cu..

Gas Flows to Millions in Thailand While Pipeline Repaired

Responsible for providing Thailand with 20% of its natural gas supply, PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) work to make sure natural gas production from the Bongkot and Erawan production platforms, located in the Gulf of Thailand, flow with little disruption. Since replaci..

Ghana’s Sankofa Gas Project a Game Changer

Ghana’s Sankofa Gas Project (SGP) is focused on the development and subsequent production of two offshore natural gas fields within the OCTP (Offshore Cape Three Points) bloc. OCTP is comprised of the Sankofa and Gye Nyame non-associated gas fields, and the separate Sankofa East oil field (estimated..

Integrated Corrosion Management of Oil, Gas Installations

Corrosion monitoring of oil and gas installation usually peaks during the operations/production stage, but each stage of the project is (design, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance/shutdown time) is equally important for these facilities. The activities carried out during the design..

Mexico Energy Reform: The Other Story

Over the past month, two big stories have emerged from Mexico. One is the continued progress in pursuing true constitutional energy reform, with three rounds of auctions on oil fields so far and 30 production contracts awarded in pursuit of a new energy paradigm for Mexico. The true success of this..

Orifice Meter Inspection - An Important but Forgotten Part of Measurement

You attended standards meetings and various measurement schools around the globe and met with your engineering peers to design the most cost-effective meter runs or meter stations. You believe everything is designed as best as it could be. The product is inspected prior to release and acceptance at ..

Shell’s Ajay Shah on Developing Gas Markets

Shell Vice President Ajay Shah leads a global team responsible for gas market development from the regasification terminal through to the local downstream market. He has worked in Shell’s gas and power division for over half his career and was part of the team responsible for the start-up of Hazira,..

Understanding OPEC, OECD Influence on Crude Oil Markets
Oil

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) accounts for oil supply and demand by reporting on OPEC and OECD countries. So it is worth looking at both organizations to understand better what they are and how they operate. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is a permanent, intergovern..

Government

Government

Pipeline Safety Bill Becomes Law; New Proposed Regs More Significant President Obama’s signing of the small-bore pipeline safety bill clears the way for what will be a contentious debate about the far more significant proposed rule from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PH..

In The News

In the News

Armstrong Retains Williams CEO Position Despite Upheaval Just days after losing a bitter court fight to merge with Energy Transfer Partners, The Williams Companies announced July 1 that Frank T. MacInnis was immediately stepping down as chairman of the board of directors for personal reasons. Kathl..

Projects

Projects

Superior Court Sides with PennEast, Dismisses Trespassing Lawsuit A New Jersey State Superior Court judge on July 7 rejected a lawsuit filed by HALT, an association of New Jersey landowners, and several of its individual members, in its attempt to prevent the PennEast Pipeline from being built. Di..

Q&A

Business Agent: Striking a Balance Between Operators and Unions

For many, pursuing a family trade is a rare endeavor. My great-grandmother would float in a canoe on the murky waters of East Texas, shotgun in hand, hunting alligators. No one in my family chose to follow suit, but we all know the legend she was. Still, there is a lingering sentiment that surfaces..

What's New

What’s New

Atmos International Theft Net, from Atmos International, is an analysis service that uses specialist engineers to interpret data collected from pipelines to accurately pinpoint illegal tapping points. These specialist theft detection engineers achieve higher sensitivity than standard online theft d..