Eyeing

The federal government is eyeing the possibility of regulating the safety of gathering lines that serve the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania, the head of the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administrator (PHMSA) told a Senate panel last Monday.

The federal government is eyeing the possibility of regulating the safety of gathering lines that serve the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania, the head of the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administrator (PHMSA) told a Senate panel Monday.

Exploration in North America’s onshore remains in its earliest stages because producers are eyeing “tens of thousands” of locations for future drilling, Baker Hughes Inc. CEO Martin Craighead said Tuesday.

Germany and California’s largest cities — Berlin and Los Angeles — are eyeing two starkly different transportation alternatives, seeking different ways to displace gasoline dependence.

In the article “Bison Pipeline is Back and Eyeing Growth” (see NGI, Oct. 17), NGI misquoted Todd Johnson, TransCanada’s marketing director for U.S. Pipelines West, in his remarks regarding the company’s restart of the Bison natural gas pipeline following a rupture in July. For the record, TransCanada provided the following statement: “TransCanada worked closely with the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) in the aftermath of the incident to identify what actions would need to be taken in order to safely return the pipeline to service at its approved maximum allowable operating pressure. Among other things, TransCanada conducted an inline inspection of the entire length of the pipe and provided the data and analysis to PHMSA. PHMSA worked diligently with the TransCanada team and the information provided and concluded that as of noon Saturday, October 8, Bison could safely lift its force majeure condition and return to full service at its original maximum allowable operating pressure.” NGI regrets the error.

In the article “Bison Pipeline is Back and Eyeing Growth” (see Daily GPI, Oct. 17), NGI misquoted Todd Johnson, TransCanada’s marketing director for U.S. Pipelines West, in his remarks regarding the company’s restart of the Bison natural gas pipeline following a rupture in July. For the record, TransCanada provided the following statement: “TransCanada worked closely with the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) in the aftermath of the incident to identify what actions would need to be taken in order to safely return the pipeline to service at its approved maximum allowable operating pressure. Among other things, TransCanada conducted an inline inspection of the entire length of the pipe and provided the data and analysis to PHMSA. PHMSA worked diligently with the TransCanada team and the information provided and concluded that as of noon Saturday, October 8, Bison could safely lift its force majeure condition and return to full service at its original maximum allowable operating pressure.” NGI regrets the error.

Wisconsin Energy (WE) is eyeing natural gas distribution infrastructure upgrades as one of several capital investment opportunities in the next two to four years, CEO Gale Klappa told financial analysts Thursday in reporting 2Q2011 earnings of $98 million (41 cents/share), compared with $88 million (37 cent/share) in 2Q2010. Current efforts nationally to update gas pipeline rules and regulations are expected to create the need for more investment in WE’s gas pipeline system, and the company expects to also have the opportunity to buy some existing gas-fired cogeneration facilities that the state of Wisconsin owns and operates. “We still have to deal with aging gas and electric infrastructure,” said Klappa. “I am very confident we will be seeing additional capital spending in the 2013-14 time frame related to additional regulation on gas distribution and pipeline safety. Those issues are being debated right now by FERC [the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission] and the Congress.”

The record-breaking drought gripping Texas has the state’s reservoir/aquifer managers eyeing water levels and issuing warnings. But lower water reserves apparently have not seriously affected oil and gas activities in the state, at least not yet.

The record-breaking drought gripping Texas has the state’s reservoir/aquifer managers eyeing water levels and issuing warnings. But lower water reserves apparently have not seriously affected oil and gas activities in the state, at least not yet.