Accidents

“In my point of view, there are three important things that need to be improved in Mexico: innovation, technology and employee security,” Sandra Jahnsen, CEO of Jahnsen Business Consulting & Corporate, told NGI’s Mexico GPI. “In Mexico, both the oil and natural gas sectors are deficient in these three areas.” She added, “When those three…

Fitch Ratings Inc. downgraded the credit ratings of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) in mid July, citing the Mexico state-owned oil company’s high debts, multiple accidents and “continued weak operating performance.”  Fitch’s Saverio Minervini, a senior director in the Latin America corporate finance group, spoke with NGI’s Mexico GPI about the reasons for the downgrade. “This was…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on Monday published a final rule in the Federal Register that relaxes inspection and reporting requirements for natural gas pipeline operators. The rule is meant “to ease regulatory burdens on the construction, operation and maintenance of gas transmission, distribution, and gathering pipeline…

In response to major pipeline accidents in California and Pennsylvania that caused 22 deaths, the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) last week issued recommendations for natural gas pipelines to preserve and verify records related to maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) and advised hazardous liquid pipeline operators to adhere to the same standards for maximum operating pressure (MOP).

Responding to major pipeline accidents in California and Pennsylvania over the last few years that caused 22 deaths, the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Monday issued recommendations for natural gas pipelines to preserve and verify records related to maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) and advised hazardous liquid pipeline operators to adhere to the same standards for maximum operating pressure (MOP).

The number of fatalities stemming from natural gas pipeline accidents in 2010 more than doubled to 21 from nine in the prior year, according to estimates released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The number of fatalities stemming from natural gas pipeline accidents in 2010 more than doubled to 21 from nine in the prior year, according to estimates released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Natural gas pipelines accounted for all but one of the total 22 pipeline deaths in 2010, the NTSB said. One death was attributed to hazardous liquid lines last year. In contrast the NTSB reported a total of 13 pipeline-related fatalities in 2009. The deadly natural gas pipeline accident in San Bruno, CA, which killed eight people and was investigated by the NTSB, contributed to the rise in pipeline fatalities in 2010, the board said (see Daily GPI, Sept. 17, 2010). The five fatalities from a pipeline explosion in Allentown, PA, were not included in the NTSB count since the blast occurred earlier this year (see Daily GPI, Feb. 11).

Between the recent pipeline accidents near Marshall, MI, and in San Bruno, CA, and the fact that the current natural gas pipeline network was set up decades ago to serve the eastern mega-market that now is developing its own supply, the natural gas transmission sector faces a number of challenges going forward.

Between the recent pipeline accidents near Marshall, MI, and in San Bruno, CA, and the fact that the current natural gas pipeline network was set up decades ago to serve the eastern mega-market that now is developing its own supply, the natural gas transmission sector faces a number of challenges going forward.