Materials

Increasing global demand for energy and high prices have created a robust environment for oil and gas producers, but high prices have also driven up the cost of raw materials and impacted refining margins in the downstream sector, according to Ernst & Young.

Alliance Pipeline, on the leading edge of a new pipeline trend in the United States, has filed with FERC and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to increase the maximum allowed operating pressure (MAOP) of the U.S. portion of the line from 72% of the specified minimum yield strength (SMYS) to 80%.

The Senate on Tuesday approved a measure that creates a new Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMA) under the authority of the Department of Transportation, elevating the issue of pipeline safety to a higher level within the Bush administration and giving the administrator of the office a position requiring Senate approval. The PHMA will oversee the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), which has oversight over natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines. An earlier proposal, which was opposed by the American Gas Association and others in the industry, sought to transfer the OPS to the Federal Railroad Administration.

The Senate on Tuesday approved a measure that creates a new Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMA) under the authority of the Department of Transportation, elevating the issue of pipeline safety to a higher level within the Bush administration and giving the administrator of the office a position requiring Senate approval. The PHMA will oversee the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), which has oversight over natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines. An earlier proposal, which was opposed by the American Gas Association and others in the industry, sought to transfer the OPS to the Federal Railroad Administration.