January 2024, Vol. 251, No. 1

Archive

What's New

What's New January 2024

Sherwin-Williams, PCE Instruments, NDT Global, McElroy and more!

Business

Business News January 2024

Association news, personnel changes and mergers and acquisitions in January 2024!

Projects

Projects January 2024

Wolf Carbon withdraws pipeline application in Illinois; Canadian oil, gas producers plan to drill 8% more wells in 2024; TC Energy receives FERC approval for Virginia Reliability Project; and more!

Tech Notes

Addressing Sealing Challenges Associated with Smart Meters

Smart gas meters enable companies, households and municipalities to remotely access data and device functionality through a network, such as Wi-Fi, a portal or a cellular phone network.

Cost-Effective Robot for Subsea Inspection Under Development

University of Houston researchers are developing an autonomous robot to identify potential pipeline leaks and structural failures during subsea inspections.

ABB, Imperial College Extend Carbon Capture Agreement

A dedicated carbon capture pilot plant will continue to train the net-zero workforce — as well as engineers and scientists of the future — following ABB and Imperial College London signing a 10-year partnership. Globally, the plant is the only one of its kind within an academic institution.

Features

Getting a Grip on Fugitive Emissions

Better tracking is needed to tackle fugitive emissions, but this is only one part of the puzzle. Fortunately, new packing sets are beginning to address a long-overlooked problem for heavy industry.

U.S. DOT Invests Nearly $15 Million to Improve Pipeline Safety

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is awarding $14.8 million in grants to fund projects and activities to improve pipeline safety.

Solving Sulfide Stress Cracking in Sour Service

Nearly every oil country tubular goods (OCTG) manufacturer and producer is looking for solutions to sour service. It’s a perpetual issue that’s been hampering the oil and gas industry for as long as pipes have been underground.

New Alternatives for Noise Reduction in Gas Pipelines

Natural gas pipeline pressure reduction applications pose significant design challenges for engineers. Since flow varies considerably through these stations, control valves are required to throttle over a wide range, with large pressure drops at times, which create the potential for high noise.

Optimizing Emergency Response Through Alarm Management

With the implementation of the PHMSA Control Room Management (CRM) Rule in 2012, pipeline operators and control room managers have become familiar with the fundamentals of alarm management.

Spotlight on Supply Chain: How Companies Can Avoid Uncertainty

Supply-chain uncertainty is a major headache for many sectors across the world. Minimizing supply-chain risks could help oil and gas firms better secure their labor and materials while cutting costs by up to 15%.

Spotlight on Germany: Nation’s Pipelines Nearing Major Changes

The pipelines’ sector of Germany is on the verge of major changes, due to the ongoing conversion to hydrogen and the rapid development of H2 and gas pipelines’ infrastructure throughout the country.

Global Pipeline Construction Outlook 2024: New LNG Terminals Sound Beckon Call for More Pipelines

(P&GJ) — It comes as little surprise to those in midstream that during the past year we have continued to see LNG initiatives garner more attention than pipeline projects. However, terminal construction drives new pipeline construction.

Government

NEPA Proposal Elevates GHG as Approval Impediment

The EPA isn’t the only Biden administration office throwing up potential roadblocks to pipeline construction. Interstate pipeline builders weighed in on the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) proposed reversal of changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) made by the Trump administration.

Pipelines Unhappy with Clean Water Act Final Rule

The new Clean Water Act (CWA) final rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) potentially complicates efforts by pipeline builders (and other infrastructure sectors) to get construction approval from states and tribes.

Editor's Notebook

Editor’s Notebook: In Canada, A Tale of Two Pipelines

Well, well, well. It looks as if Canada is likely to be in the market for some new pipelines if word that the nation’s oil and gas producers plan to drill 8% more wells in 2024 comes to pass.