The American Petroleum Institute and eight other national oil and gas trade associations jointly called for companies in the industry to receive relief from anticipated US steel tariffs and quotas. In their May 18 comments, they outlined ways the US Department of Commerce could improve the relief approval process so as not to sever supply chains to industry.

 

Rising US LNG exports could put upward pressure on US gas prices and expose a previously isolated North American market to global market dynamics, a study by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Market Oversight Office suggested.

US Gulf Coast onshore ports’ limited tanker loading capacities could increase crude oil export costs because the ports are not able to accommodate very large crude carriers, the US Energy Information Administration warned. Exports have grown using smaller and less-effective vessels to get the crude to designated lightering points farther from shore where it can be transferred to a VLCC, EIA said in a May 16 report.

TransCanada Corp. will begin building its 415-mile, 48-in. OD Coastal GasLink pipeline in early 2019, pending a positive final investment decision on the linked LNG Canada liquefaction plant. 

The governments of Canada and Alberta have taken steps to break the logjam in British Columbia over expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline System. Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in a news conference May 16 the government would indemnify project sponsor Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. or a subsequent developer against financial loss resulting from BC’s resistance to pipeline expansion. 

Chevron Australia has called for industry collaboration in the development of Australia’s offshore oil and gas resources to maximize their potential and ensure economic efficiency of future projects.

A federal appeals court in Richmond found the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s authorization for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline was inadequate and vacated the agency’s incidental take authorization statement. Environmental organizations and the project’s sponsor disagreed over whether the May 15 decision would bring a halt to the pipeline’s construction.

Privately held Western Gas Corp. Pty. Ltd., Perth, has completed a basis of design for development of its wholly owned Equus gas-condensate fields offshore Western Australia and is now looking for a project development partner.

Kingfisher Midstream LLC, Oklahoma City, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alta Mesa Resources Inc., Blueknight Energy Partners LP (BKEP), and affiliates of Ergon Inc., will construct a crude oil pipeline serving STACK producers in central Oklahoma through newly-formed Cimarron Express Pipeline LLC.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) filed two petitions in US Appeals Court for the District of Columbia on May 9 in its ongoing challenge of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of the proposed PennEast natural gas pipeline.

Shell Midstream Partners LP, Houston, has agreed to acquire Shell’s ownership interest in Amberjack Pipeline Company LLC.

Dissolved natural gas can reduce a crude oil’s pour point and viscosity, improving its low-temperature mobility. Decreased viscosity can reduce friction loss of the collector pipeline, increase distribution radius, and reduce on site heating requirements. A lower pour point, meanwhile, can reduce transportation temperature, perhaps to the point where a non-heat transfer is possible. Transfer without applying heat would increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

Enbridge (US) Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Enbridge Inc., has agreed to sell Midcoast Operating LP and its subsidiaries to AL Midcoast Holdings LLC, an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners LLC, for $1.12 billion in cash.

A regional crude price deeply discounted by pipeline congestion might cost energy companies in Canada $15.8 billion (Can.) this year, according to a new report.

Inpex Masela Ltd. has let a pre-front-end engineering and design contract to KBR Inc. for the Abadi LNG project in eastern Indonesia. The subsidiary of Inpex Ltd., Tokyo, plans a 9.5 million-tonne/year plant to liquefy natural gas from offshore Abadi field. 

In the week that the ExxonMobil Corp. joint venture’s PNG-LNG project in Papua New Guinea has restarted production from LNG Train 2 and resumed LNG exports after the disruption of the February earthquake, a damning report has emerged saying that the benefits predicted to flow to Papua New Guinea from the overall project have not been realized.

Qatar Petroleum has let a contract to McDermott International Inc. for detailed design of offshore jackets for the expansion of giant offshore North natural gas field. The project will add 4.6 bcfd of production capacity in the southern part of the field and includes expansion of LNG production capacity to 100 million tonnes/year from 77 million tpy.

 

By 2022, India plans for natural gas to make up 15% of its primary energy consumption, up from 6-7% currently. Achieving this goal depends on the availability of domestic natural gas, importing natural gas at competitive prices, development of adequate LNG infrastructure, and—to accommodate all of these—expansion of the natural gas pipelines essential for transportation.

Continuing its buildout of infrastructure in the STACK play of northwestern Oklahoma, Great Salt Plains Midstream Holdings LLC (GSPM) closed on its acquisition of Thunderbird Midstream LLC. Both companies are based in Oklahoma City.

Through the formation of a 50-50 joint venture, Enterprise Products Partners LP and Energy Transfer Partners LP plan to bring the Old Ocean natural gas pipeline back into service in this year’s second quarter to meet demand for takeaway capacity from the Delaware Basin and Midland area. 

In the week that the ExxonMobil Corp. joint venture’s PNG-LNG project in Papua New Guinea has restarted production from LNG Train 2 and resumed LNG exports after the disruption of the February earthquake, a damning report has emerged saying that the benefits predicted to flow to Papua New Guinea from the overall project have not been realized.

 

Energy Transfer Partners LP, Dallas, has received approval from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for Rover Pipeline LLC to place additional Phase 2 facilities into service. Construction of the entire project is expected to be completed later this quarter.

LNG Canada, which delayed a final investment decision on its planned natural gas liquefaction plant in Kitimat, BC, in mid-2016, has named an engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for the project. 

Santos Ltd., Adelaide, has commissioned and brought on stream its Scotia CF1 project in eastern Queensland. The project came in ahead of schedule and below budget with initial full field production exceeding 40 terajoules/day of natural gas.

Phillips 66 Partners will build the Gray Oak Pipeline to carry crude oil from the Permian basin to the Texas Gulf Coast and hold a second open season to gauge interest in a system expansion. 

Enbridge said it will continue seeking approval of its proposed route for the Line 3 replacement through Minnesota despite an administrative law judge’s Apr. 23 recommendation that it use the existing crude-oil pipeline corridor through the state.

Liquid pipeline incidents affecting the public or the environment have fallen 19% in the last 5 years, the Association of Oil Pipelines and American Petroleum Institute jointly said in their 2018 Pipeline Safety Excellence Report. 

Saskatchewan’s government has joined Alberta in implicitly threatening to restrict energy movement to British Columbia, raising stakes in a dispute over expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline system.

A ConocoPhillips-led group developing Barossa gas field, in the eastern Timor Sea about 300 km north of Darwin, has reached an agreement to begin the front-end engineering and design stage of development with the initial aim of backfilling the Darwin LNG project.

Presidents of the four national oil and gas trade associations that comprise the Natural Gas Council jointly asked the Trump administration to address problems with the implementation of Clean Water Act Section 401, which they said some states are using to stop interstate pipeline construction.

The government of Alberta is moving toward restriction of energy movement to British Columbia in an escalating interprovincial conflict over expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline system.

The cumulative contribution to US economic growth from the addition of more LNG plants will range from $716 billion to $1.267 trillion between 2013 and 2050 under three cases, an ICF Inc. study commissioned by LNG Allies projected.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission began the first examination of its process for reviewing and authorizing interstate natural gas pipelines under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act since it was adopted in September 1999.

The cumulative contribution to US economic growth from the addition of more LNG plants will range from $716 billion to $1.267 trillion between 2013 and 2050 under three cases, an ICF Inc. study commissioned by LNG Allies projected. It also projected 2-3.9 million job-years from US LNG plants during that period. One job for 1 year is a job-year.

 

The government of Alberta is moving toward restriction of energy movement to British Columbia in an escalating interprovincial conflict over expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline system.

Enterprise Products Partners LP reported that its 416-mile Midland-to-Sealy pipeline is in full service with an expanded capacity of 540,000 b/d and capable of transporting batched grades of crude oil and condensate.

Chevron Australia has reported the start of Stage 2 of the Gorgon LNG project off Western Australia. The $5.1-billion (Aus.) program will include 11 new wells—7 in Gorgon field 150 km north of Onslow and 4 in Janz-Io field another 70 km offshore. There also will be new subsea installations and pipelaying work.

Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. is suspending all nonessential activities and related spending on its Trans Mountain Expansion Project. KMCL also announced that, given actions in opposition to the project by the Province of British Columbia, it will not commit additional shareholder resources to TMEP.

Apparent German support for the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline across the Baltic Sea is wavering.

Stopping crude oil and product thefts may not seem to be a high priority in fighting global maritime crime, but they need to be addressed more aggressively because they can finance narcotic smuggling, human trafficking, and other destructive criminal enterprises, speakers agreed during an Apr. 10 Atlantic Council discussion.

Pittsburgh-based Mountain Valley Pipeline proposed a 70-mile extension of the interstate natural gas pipeline to central North Carolina. The MVP Gateway Project would receive gas from the main pipeline in Pittsylvania County, Va., and ship it to Rockingham and Alamance counties, officials said. 

Presidents of the four national oil and gas trade associations that comprise the Natural Gas Council jointly asked the Trump administration to address problems with the implementation of Clean Water Act Section 401, which they said some states are using to stop interstate pipeline construction.

Transco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams Partners LP, has filed an application with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking authorization for its Southeastern Trail expansion project, which would create 296,375 dekatherms/day of additional firm transportation capacity to the US Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Stopping crude oil and product thefts may not seem to be a high priority in fighting global maritime crime, but they need to be addressed more aggressively because they can finance narcotic smuggling, human trafficking, and other destructive criminal enterprises, speakers agreed during an Apr. 10 Atlantic Council discussion.

Apparent German support for the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline across the Baltic Sea is wavering. Chancellor Angela Merkel said after meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that the pipeline cannot advance unless Ukraine retains a role as a transit country for Russian natural gas bound for Europe. 

Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd. is suspending all nonessential activities and related spending on its Trans Mountain Expansion Project. KMCL also announced that, given actions in opposition to the project by the Province of British Columbia, it will not commit additional shareholder resources to TMEP. KMCL, however, will consult with various stakeholders to reach agreements by May 31 that may allow TMEP to proceed.

 

Targa Resources Corp. has entered into long-term, fee-based agreements with an unidentified investment-grade energy company for natural gas gathering and processing services in the Delaware basin and for downstream transportation, fractionation, and other related services.

Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline has received one of the two required permits for construction and operation in the Finnish exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment issued the first permit for a 374-km offshore section extending through the Finnish EEZ outside the country’s territorial waters. 

Epic Y Grade Pipeline, a subsidiary of Epic Y Grade Holdings and Epic Midstream Holdings, has placed Phase 1 of its NGL pipeline in service, operating between DLK Black River Midstream’s processing plant in Eddy County, NM, and Delaware Basin Midstream’s terminal in Orla County, Tex. NGL was introduced to the pipeline Mar. 12. 

The sponsor of an Alaska LNG export terminal at Nikiski and cross-state pipeline from Prudhoe Bay selected Bank of China and Goldman Sachs as global capital coordinators for the multibillion-dollar project. The two investment banks will assist Alaska Gasline Development Corp. in raising equity and debt financing.

 

Europe's natural gas market is evolving from politically driven projects to commercial agreements, and US suppliers will need to move more aggressively on those terms if they expect to be a substantive part of it, speakers suggested at a Mar. 22 conference.

The government of British Columbia has proposed conditional incentives for LNG projects in a move that tests a governing coalition of the New Democratic and Green parties.

Even with offshore field development having slowed in the wake of the 2014 oil price collapse, a variety of subsea pipeline projects remain in development. Each meets the producers' need to rationalize the paths by which their hydrocarbons get to market, some of the larger projects taking land-based production to land-based consumers even as growth at both ends of the LNG market accelerates.

A US federal appeals court denied the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's appeal of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision that NYSDEC waived authority to issue or deny a water-quality certification for the Millennium natural gas pipeline's 7.8-mile Valley Lateral when the state agency did not act within the federal Clean Water Act's Section 401 1-year timeframe.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA let a contract to a consortium of Shandong Kerui Petroleum Equipment Co. and Metodo Potencial Engenharia to build a natural gas processing unit to be installed in Itaborai, in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. 

Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline has received its permit for construction and operation in the German exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) issued the permit for the roughly 30-km section within the EEZ in accordance with the country’s Federal Mining Act. 

Targa Resources Corp. has entered into long-term, fee-based agreements with an unidentified investment-grade energy company for natural gas gathering and processing services in the Delaware basin and for downstream transportation, fractionation, and other related services. 

Japanese operator Inpex has announced a further delay in its Ichthys LNG project off Western Australia, pushing back the on-stream date by at least 2 months.

The government of British Columbia has proposed conditional incentives for LNG projects in a move that tests a governing coalition of the New Democratic and Green parties.

Carbon policy and technology are two factors influencing North American pipeline infrastructure growth, panelists said at CERAWeek by IHS Markit Mar. 7 in Houston.

Sydney and Port Moresby producer Oil Search Ltd. expects its Gobe oil and gas processing facilities and export pipeline in the Papua New Guinea southern highlands to be back on stream in the next few days. The plant was mostly left undamaged by the recent earthquake.

Europe’s natural gas market is evolving from politically driven projects to commercial agreements, and US suppliers will need to move more aggressively on those terms if they expect to be a substantive part of it, speakers suggested at a Mar. 22 conference. 

A group led by ConocoPhillips has received regulatory approval from Australia’s National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) for its proposal to develop the Barossa gas-condensate field in retention lease NT/RL5 in the eastern Timor Sea 300 km north of Darwin.

Tellurian subsidiary Permian Global Access Pipeline LLC (PGAP), Houston, is holding a nonbinding open season to secure prospective shippers for a proposed 42-in. interstate natural gas pipeline connecting the Permian basin in Texas to Southwest Louisiana.

Perenco has begun production at Cameroon LNG via Golar LNG Ltd.’s floating LNG production unit Hilli Episeyo. FLNG Hilli Episeyo arrived in Cameroon in late November 2017.

India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has revoked authorization for state-owned GAIL (India) Ltd. to lay a 2,112-km pipeline to carry imported natural gas from the west to east coasts. 

Thirty-nine US senators urged the Trump administration to use all tools at its disposal—including a provision in the 2017 Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)—to prevent construction of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. 

TransCanada Corp. has placed its Cameron Access natural gas pipeline project into service in southwestern Louisiana. Cameron Access involved improvements to existing pipeline, construction of a compressor station, and the addition of 27 miles of 36-in. OD greenfield pipeline.

 

A US federal appeals court denied the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s appeal of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s decision that NYSDEC waived authority to issue or deny a water-quality certification for the Millennium natural gas pipeline’s 7.8-mile Valley Lateral when the state agency did not act within the federal Clean Water Act’s Section 401 1-year timeframe.

Statoil AS and its partners have committed 5 billion kroner and started work on the next steps in the development of Snohvit field in the Barents Sea. Development of Askeladd field is the second phase of the multiphased Snohvit development, which will provide feedstock for the LNG plant at Melkoya in Hammerfest.

A debate about the proposed Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline at the Atlantic Council on Mar. 12 quickly became heated as some participants argued that it would serve a broader Russian political purpose while others said it simply would increase available supplies for European customers. Speakers generally seemed to agree that the US should encourage an effective solution but keep its distance otherwise.

Magellan Midstream Partners LP, Tulsa, has launched an open season to gauge interest in an expansion of the western leg of its Magellan South System in Texas. 

Carbon policy and technology are two factors influencing North American pipeline infrastructure growth, panelists said at CERAWeek by IHS Markit Mar. 7 in Houston.

Industry faces many political uncertainties including time-consuming permitting requirements, which can be costly for pipeline companies, Greg Armstrong, chairman and chief executive officer of Plains All American Pipeline LP, said during CERAWeek by IHS Markit on Mar. 5 in Houston.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd., Perth, has withdrawn from its Grassy Point LNG project on the northwest coast of British Columbia.

Eight US oil and gas trade association leaders jointly urged President Donald Trump to at least allow exemptions for energy projects’ materials if he moves ahead with imposing a tariff on imported steel.

Velocity Midstream Partners LLC has started construction of a 22-mile 12-in. crude oil pipeline extension linking the core of the Merge play to its South Central Oklahoma Oil Province pipeline assets. 

Tall Oak Midstream III LLC, Oklahoma City, has launched a nonbinding open season to secure prospective shippers for a proposed natural gas residue pipeline in Southeast Oklahoma.

TransCanada Corp. is holding a binding open season for expanded capacity at its Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) system’s Empress-McNeill export delivery point.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. received official approval from the Government of Mozambique for its Golfinho-Atum field development plan, including Mozambique LNG. 

Formulating drag reducing agents' (DRA) average concentration and corresponding drag reduction efficiency can show that mechanical degradation of DRA not only occurs after its dissolution but also while dissolution is underway.

Methods like those used to determine the carbon footprint of crude oil and natural gas from particular reservoirs can also determine the carbon footprint of LNG and LPG from particular sources. Historically, production-to-combustion footprints for crude oil, gas, and related LNG and LPG have been published as an aggregated, single number for a broadly-defined region. More recently, however, oil footprints have been differentiated by region and subregion, resulting in a wide variety of footprints. Gas footprints have been differentiated in a similar way, albeit in less detail. This article shows the same can be done for both LNG and LPG.

The global LNG market has continued to defy expectations of many market observers, with demand rising 29 million tonnes to 293 million tonnes in 2017, according to Royal Dutch Shell PLC's annual LNG Outlook.

Woodside Petroleum has announced a $2.5-billion (Aus.) equity raising to pay for a number of LNG expansions onshore and offshore Western Australia, including the acquisition of ExxonMobil's 50% interest in offshore retention lease WA-1-R containing the bulk of the yet-to-be-developed Scarborough natural gas field on the Exmouth Plateau.

Australia and East Timor have reached a treaty agreement over their disputed maritime border as well as “a pathway” to develop the Greater Sunrise offshore gas fields in the Timor Sea, according to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

The global LNG market has continued to defy expectations of many market observers, with demand rising 29 million tonnes to 293 million tonnes in 2017, according to Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s annual LNG Outlook. 

TransCanada Corp. reported it will advance a $2.4-billion (Can.) expansion of its NGTL System to connect incremental supply and expand basin export capacity by 1 bcfd of natural gas at the interconnection with its Canadian Mainline.

Pipeline congestion caused by approval delays and aggravated by a November leak in the Keystone system has cost oil producers in western Canada as much as $17/bbl (Can.), say economists at Scotiabank.

State-owned ONGC Videsh Ltd. of India is reported to have dropped plans for a gas-liquefaction project in Iran in an apparent effort to advance development of Farzad B gas field.

A unit of Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) has reported the conclusion of an open season for the Cactus II crude oil pipeline system, which will extend from the Permian basin to the Corpus Christi-Ingleside, Tex., area.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. reported that Mozambique LNG1 Co. Pte. Ltd.—the jointly owned sales entity of the Mozambique Area 1 Lda. coventurers—has entered into a long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement with Electricite de France SA. The offtake agreement calls for the supply of 1.2 million tonnes/year of LNG to EDF over 15 years.

Pipeline congestion caused by approval delays and aggravated by a November leak in the Keystone system has cost oil producers in western Canada as much as $17/bbl (Can.), say economists at Scotiabank. 

EQT Corp. will separate its upstream and midstream businesses, all in the Appalachian basin. The upstream company will retain the EQT name, with Steve Schlotterbeck remaining as chief executive officer. The midstream company will be named NewCo. Jerry Ashcroft, now EQT vice-president and president, midstream, and senior vice-president and chief operating officer of EQT Midstream Partners, will be NewCo’s CEO.

US pipelines and waterways have accommodated most of the growth in the transportation of crude oil, petroleum products, and other hazardous liquids and gases well as the US energy landscape has changed, the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine’s Transportation Research Board indicated.

Oil Search Ltd., Port Moresby and Sydney, has revealed that recent high-level meetings between itself, ExxonMobil Corp., and Total SA have resulted in broad agreement for the preferred development concept for the Elk-Antelope natural gas fields in retention lease PRL15 and P’nyang gas field in PRL3 in Papua New Guinea.

The Association of Oil Pipe Lines urged caution as the US Department of Commerce said increasingly high steel imports threaten US national security. AOPL Pres. Andrew J. Black cautioned that placing tariffs on imported steel could reduce or delay pipeline projects and limit US job growth.

TransCanada Corp. reported it will advance a $2.4-billion (Can.) expansion of its NGTL System to connect incremental supply and expand basin export capacity by 1 bcfd of natural gas at the interconnection with its Canadian Mainline.

The ranking minority members of the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and US House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for an update on environmental concerns stemming from construction of the Rover natural gas pipeline.

The Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission unanimously adopted new regulations covering flowlines and related oil and gas systems. The Feb. 13 action came following months of investigations and hearings after an Apr. 17, 2017, explosion and fire in an abandoned flowline killed two people and injured another in the town of Firestone.