Monitoring

Meeting Challenges of Safely Repairing Online Pipelines

Oil and gas operators the world over face the same set of challenges, best summed up as requiring that they identify and implement the safest and most cost-effective way of maximizing hydrocarbon output.

Enhancing Contractor Safety: New API Assessment Program Targets Key Risks

API introduces the Pipeline Contractor Assessment Program to enhance safety practices among pipeline contractors, focusing on standardized guidelines and risk management based on RP 1173.

Flowmeter Market Surge: Study Projects Growth to $9.6 Billion by 2027

The comprehensive “Volume X: The World Market for Flowmeters, 9th Edition” study from Flow Research reveals that the worldwide market for all types of flowmeter technologies totaled $7.6 billion in 2022 and $7.9 billion in 2023, with revenues forecast to reach $9.6 billion in 2027.

Bridging the Skills Gap: A Comprehensive Guide for Measurement Technicians

Explore essential skills and strategies for measurement technicians to bridge the industry skills gap, adapt to technological advancements, and excel in pipeline operations. This comprehensive guide covers training, communication, and practical tips for success.

Geospatial Analytics: Predictions, Trends, and A.I. Applications for Pipeline Management

Geospatial analytics is revolutionizing pipeline management for oil and gas companies, enabling efficient monitoring of vast infrastructure. Utilizing A.I.-powered technologies, this approach detects potential leaks, encroachments, and chemical traces, ensuring early detection and minimizing environmental impact.

Navigating Small Diameter ILI Challenges in Crude Oil Gathering Systems

Bridger Pipeline operates a crude oil gathering system, of approximately 3,500 miles, in the Williston Basin of western North Dakota, eastern Montana and the Powder River Basin of Wyoming. The system contains many small-diameter (3-inch to 6-inch) gathering lines that are a challenge to inspect with ILI tools.

Pipeline Efficiency: Enhancing Bearings with Surface Preparation and Coatings

Surface preparation and coatings enhance the performance and lifespan of industrial bearings in pipelines. Techniques like shot blasting and advanced coatings provide superior wear and corrosion protection, reducing downtime and maintenance costs. Explore methods to boost pipeline efficiency.

Leak Detection: Navigating Industry Evolution Through Adaptive Technology

To maintain innovation and growth while avoiding potential disruption, the governing bodies responsible for regulation and processes within the pipeline industry are expected to anticipate change and implement the appropriate solutions.

EU Countries Approve Methane Emissions Limits on European Oil and Gas Imports

From 2030, the EU will impose "maximum methane intensity values" on fossil fuels placed on the European market. The European Commission will design the exact methane limits by that date.

Case Study: Risk Management for Valve Rupture Mitigation in Pipeline Operations

Discover how a U.S. transmission pipeline operator collaborated with Dynamic Risk to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis for valve rupture mitigation. Learn how geospatial data and advanced analytics were utilized to prioritize high-consequence areas and optimize risk management strategies.

Pipeline Safety Improves Over Five Years, Focuses on Community Engagement and Low-Carbon Solutions

Despite increases in pipeline mileage and the volume of barrels transported, the American Petroleum Institute's recent report reveals that pipeline safety has seen improvement across various key metrics over the past five years.

FBI Warns of Chinese Hackers Targeting U.S. Infrastructure, Including 23 Pipeline Operators

Chinese government-linked hackers have burrowed into U.S. critical infrastructure and are waiting "for just the right moment to deal a devastating blow," FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Thursday.

Pipeline Movement, Landslides Navigated with Technology

Bearing the responsibility of ensuring the continuous flow of energy resources through vast networks of pipelines, the custodians of pipeline integrity face an ever-present challenge: geohazards.

Protection in Renewal Biogas Systems for Increased Pipeline Reliability

Biogas is a renewable fuel generated through the anaerobic fermentation of organic matter. Biogas is a mixture of gases, mainly methane and carbon dioxide, accompanied by trace elements dependent on the feedstock and production method.

Remote Alarm Notification Helps Fuel Increased Gas Production

Accurate, real-time data is essential to succeeding in the oil and gas industry. Engineers need operational data from the field to calibrate equipment, schedule maintenance activities and coordinate with third-party logistics, to keep the flow of product moving.

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.

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%.

Crucial Role of Testing Labs in Pipeline Emergency Response

(P&GJ) — Emergency situations, like explosions due to pipeline ruptures, often happen instantly and without warning. Pipeline managers know about the risks that come with the job, but the aftereffects of pipeline ruptures and leaks are often secondary to protecting human life.

Creating Efficiencies with Turn-Key Integrity Solutions

(P&GJ) — As countries around the globe work to reduce emissions, the transition from coal to natural gas is an important step that many pipeline operators are pursuing, as part of their strategy to meet emission targets and move to lower carbon energy sources.

Implementing the New Pipeline Security Directive

(P&GJ) — The digital era has ushered in unprecedented opportunities and new vulnerabilities that can create ripple effects across our nation’s critical infrastructure. Nowhere is this more evident than in our essential pipeline systems.

Drones Used to Improve Safety of Pipelines

(P&GJ) — There’s no way around it — infrastructure inspection is as risky and dangerous as it is vital. For the past few years, companies have begun experimenting with unmanned aerial systems (known as UAS, or drones) to help improve worker safety, among other benefits.

ABB, Luna Innovations Collaborate on World’s Largest Fiber Optic-Based Gas Pipeline Monitoring System

Luna Innovations and automation contractor ABB collaborated with the system operator to provide leak detection, pipeline security and facility security across the 1,811 km route in a project spanning six years.

Proposed PHMSA Leak Detection Changes Run into Opposition

(P&GJ) — While the CEQ’s proposed NEPA changes would affect how all federal agencies review potential GHG emissions for various industry energy construction projects, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) wants to restrict methane emissions for already-installed pipelines, as well as new ones.

Emerging Threats of Climate Change, Vandalism

(P&GJ) — Pipeline integrity management systems (PIMS) are now in common practice, driven by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) requirements in the U.S. In June 2022, PHMSA updated an advisory bulletin on earth movement and geohazards, to monitor changing weather patterns and consider the risk posed by climate change.

Internal Corrosion’s Threat to Pipeline Integrity

(P&GJ) — Pipeline integrity is critical for ensuring the safe transportation of oil and gas products. Internal corrosion is an element of pipeline integrity that poses a significant concern for operators. According to PHMSA, “internal corrosion historically accounts for approximately 60% of all pipeline incidents caused by corrosion in transmission and gathering pipelines.”

Paradigm Shifts in Natural Gas Measurement, Maintenance

(P&GJ) — What drives paradigm shifts? Are paradigm shifts in industry the result of changes in behavior which lead to technology innovation, or does technology innovation precede paradigm shifts in behavior? This existential “what came first, the chicken or the egg” question may not have a universal answer, but in mature, risk averse, and regulated industries, the answer is almost universally the latter.

Bakken Case Study: Expanding Operations Depends on Thick-Walled HDPE Pipe

(P&GJ) – As Continental Resources expands its operation in Dunn County, North Dakota, an important component is the use of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe that was selected not only for its integrity but also because it can be installed without scaring the environment.

Plugging the Leak: Tackling Methane Emissions

(P&GJ) — The oil and gas industry is heavily regulated by a number of governing bodies, including the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, to ensure pipelines run efficiently and safely. However, no matter how controlled operations are, toxic vapors from fugitive emissions continue to be a problem.

Embracing Sustainability Across Pipelines Requires Digital Transformation

(P&GJ) — The environment in which pipelines must operate is changing rapidly and dramatically, as constant shifts in the global marketplace have underscored a need for increasing flexibility.