Editor's Notebook
Editor’s Notebook: It Could Have Been Worse, Revisited
(P&GJ) — With its approval of the Willow Project on the North Slope Alaska early this year, along with its continued of drilling permits on federal lands, the Biden administration has begun to show at least some desire to play ball where oil projects are involved, much to the chagrin of the anti-fossil fuel forces.
Editor’s Notebook: ‘Peace Pipeline’ Project Appears Dead
At least for a while over the last couple of decades, the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline was perceived by some as something that would bring at least a measure of harmony to Pakistan’s relationship with Iran. However, once again, the project has been shelved – this time apparently under U.S. pressure.
Editor's Notebook: Colorado’s Bold Initiative
(P&GJ) — The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) recently adopted rules aimed at increasing repair inspections and leak detection at oil and gas facilities throughout the state. While these new guidelines do not affect midstream directly, there are implications for the sector due to the growing emphasis on carbon-capture and related pipelines.
Editor’s Notebook: Is Rerouting Line 5 the Best Option?
(P&GJ) — In a ruling that could be interpreted as a split decision, a U.S. District Court judge has told Enbridge it can continue to operate its Line 5 pipeline through an indigenous people’s territory but must relocate a portion of the line by 2026.
Editor’s Notebook: Alaska’s Long Road Back
(P&GJ) — With the Biden administration’s recent approval of exports from a proposed LNG project and the rejection of a lawsuit challenging construction of related infrastructure, prospects may again be looking up again for the Final Frontier.
See You at the Movies … OK, Probably Not
(P&GJ) — The movie "How to Blow Up a Pipeline" tells a fictional story set in West Texas, where a group of people from different walks of life band together for various reasons and decide to blow up a pipeline. You already know the muddled thinking behind arriving at this decision – you've heard it before.
Editor’s Notebook: Nord Stream Questions Grow Murkier
(P&GJ) — While the investigation into who deliberately blew up Nord Stream continues, the operator of the previously functional first line appears to be taking a serious look at how it will seal and empty the pipeline before more damage occurs.
Editor’s Notebook: California’s Pipeline, CCUS Quandary
(P&GJ) — California, in laying out a bold clean air initiative, has placed a great deal of emphasis on carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) in an effort to start removing the same amount of carbon from the air as what the state emits by 2045.
Editor’s Notebook: Getting the CO2 Out
(P&GJ) — Navigator Heartland Greenway has voluntarily withdrawn its application for a certificate of authority to build a 250-mile portion of its CO2 pipeline through a part of western Illinois, but the company said it plans to refile soon.
Coastal GasLink’s Year of Milestones
(P&GJ) — As 2022 drew to a close, news came that one of the more complex pipelines projects ever seen in North America, the Coastal Gaslink project, had eclipsed the 80% completion mark in British Columbia. The project, in combination with the Kitimat LNG plant, is the largest Canadian infrastructure investment since the 1950s when the St. Lawrence Seaway was constructed.
Editor’s Notebook: Big Early Win for Northwest Capacity
(P&GJ) — The venerable Gas Transmission Northwest pipeline system, which runs from the Canadian border to California, appears headed toward an important regulatory victory in the effort to increase its capacity by about 150 MMcf/d.
Editor’s Notebook: The Digital Future Is Now
(P&GJ) — For the past 163 years, Pipeline & Gas Journal has arrived in our readers’ mailboxes each month without fail. This, however, the December issue, will be our final printed edition of the magazine. Rest assured, though, we are not going away – not by a long shot.
Editor’s Notebook: Sabotage at the Highest Level?
(P&GJ) — Amid the finger-pointing and alternative conclusions that come with just about everything involving the energy sector these days, one hard fact has emerged concerning the Nord Stream: Someone deliberately blew four holes in its pipelines during a three-day period.
Editor’s Notebook: Line 5’s Legal Saga Continues
(P&GJ) — With Enbridge’s Line 5 recently prevailing when a judge ruled against the state of Michigan’s lawsuit to shut down the petroleum pipeline, which runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac, the pipeline operator now finds itself in the odd position of being backed by the invocation of an international treaty for the second time.
Manchin’s ‘Deal’ Revisited
(P&GJ) — On the surface, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia’s surprise deal with the Democratic leadership of Congress, which would potentially clear the way for the 94% completed Mountain Valley Pipeline to finally be completed, appeared to be a major win for midstream.
For Producers, It’s that Time
(P&GJ) — Oddly enough, the very source of the boom that put some wind behind the sails of the energy industry over the past decade and a half – the Shale Revolution – has become, to a large extent, a snag for production growth.
US Midstream and the Russia Factor
With much of the world shunning Russian energy as prices surge, the resulting systematic upheaval in dynamics has the potential to alter oil and gas supply trends and trade partnerships for years to come.
Biden’s ‘Big Project’ Environmental Reviews
With the Biden administration bringing back a stricter review process for pipeline and other major infrastructure projects, it seemed like a good time to look at the origin of the policy and what the change will entail.
Another Pothole in the Road
With its new policy declaring that greenhouse gas and “environmental justice” must be taken into account during the approval process for natural gas pipelines, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has outdone itself in further muddying the road forward for future projects.
Trans Mountain by the Numbers
With Canada’s announcement that the government will no longer fund the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, many who criticized the country’s purchase of the project in the first place are now wondering if it should be completed at all, regardless of who pays for it.
So Close, Yet So Far
Once again, a U.S. appeals court has tossed out permits granted by federal agencies that would have allowed the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross a 3.5-mile section of the Jefferson National Forest.
Necessity Meets Innovation
There has been a major oil leak in progress off the coast of Louisiana for 17 years now, and I’d be willing to bet most people, even those in the industry, don’t know about it.
A True Chilling Effect
When the Supreme Court refused to stay a lower court decision that vacated a federal permit allowing Spire’s STL pipeline to operate, it opened a door that could threaten natural gas supplies to residents during St. Louis’ notoriously bitter winter.
CEPA Exiting After Nearly 3 Decades
The decision by the Board of Directors to shut down its offices as of Dec. 31 comes as a tough blow for midstream companies, though all things considered the move was not especially surprising.
Line 3’s Long, Strange Trip Nears Terminus?
The Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision to let stand a regulatory ruling that allows Calgary, Alberta-based Enbridge’s nearly completed Line 3 project to move forward comes while Canadian midstream companies are overdue for some good news.
Northern Demand not Isolated
Say what you will about the state of the industry, customers are still clamoring for natural gas in their homes and businesses, and with that need for expansion comes new pipeline projects.
Midstream Wins a Big One
The U.S. Supreme Court, in what some people including me would consider at least a minor surprise, upheld PennEast Pipeline’s authority to use eminent domain to acquire access to state property.
A Question of Not ‘If’ but ‘When’
The cyberattack on Colonial Pipelines served as the ultimate exclamation point on that pesky declaration pipeline companies had been hearing for years: Your information systems need to be better protected from malicious software.
West Coast Greets ‘Cleaner’ Pipe Conversion
Between the California towns of Paramount and Carson, about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, a pipeline that once shipped crude oil from the former to the latter is another step closer to transporting hydrogen gas instead.
Beware of Pending FERC Shift
A recent vote of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) may have come out favorably for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), but 3-2 wins like this for midstream companies will likely become a much rarer commodity this summer.
- 416-Mile Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project 98% Complete
- FERC Approves TC Energy's 1,377-Mile West Coast Pipeline Expansion
- Kinder Morgan to Buy NextEra’s 462-Mile Texas Pipeline System for $1.8 Billion
- Williams' Gas Pipeline in Idaho Ruptures, Company Challenges Explosion Allegations
- Biden Awards $7 Billion in Hydrogen Hub Money to 16 States
- Challenges of Converting Pipelines to Hydrogen Service
- Navigator CO2 Ventures Seeks Pause in Iowa Permit Process for 1,300-Mile Carbon Pipeline
- 416-Mile Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project 98% Complete
- UAE's ADNOC Awards $17 Billion of Contracts for Gas Project, Including Subsea Pipelines
- HVO: Fuel for the Future
