Safety

Following approval by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Bison Pipeline was restored to maximum allowable operating pressure of 1,440 psig along with having a force majeure declaration lifted at noon Saturday. “Gas had already been bought for the weekend, so we didn’t go up immediately” on pressure, said spokesman David Dodson. “It is looking like nominations for gas day Tuesday will be about 360-370 MMcf, which is what we were flowing before the July 20 incident” (see Daily GPI, July 25). Bison has a total design capacity of 477 MMcf/d.

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) may be at the center of current debate in states that are experiencing a shale gas boom, but it will remain an important part of the industry and can be performed safely, according to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Laser Northeast Gathering Co. LLC is abandoning its efforts to have a proposed gathering system in northeast Pennsylvania classified as a public utility with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC).

ExxonMobil Corp. and Russia’s OAO Rosneft said Tuesday they have forged an agreement to jointly explore and develop projects in North America, including the tight oilfields of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), as well as in Russia and other countries around the world. The two oil giants also agreed to share technology in the wide-ranging transaction.

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) last week criticized Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and said she was “very disappointed” that the company had been slow to reveal there had been a leak in 1988 on a section of its gas transmission Line 132, which exploded in San Bruno, CA, last September.

The head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Wednesday toured the site of last September’s gas transmission pipeline explosion in San Bruno, CA, taking time to criticize Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and offering additional recommendations for improving communications between pipeline operators and communities.

The Texas Senate Wednesday evening unanimously passed legislation to require disclosure of the contents of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluid, “breaking ground that no other state has done,” according to state Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay). However, a floor amendment could thwart the bill’s progress.

Continuing schedule delays — exacerbated by a ruling by the Department of Transportation Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHSMA) that ended the use of a key vapor gas dispersion model — have prompted Crown Landing LLC to ask FERC for a one-year extension to revise a permit application for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Delaware River in Gloucester County, NJ.

Continuing schedule delays — exacerbated by a ruling by the Department of Transportation Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHSMA) that ended the use of a key vapor gas dispersion model — have prompted Crown Landing LLC to ask FERC for a one-year extension to revise a permit application for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Delaware River in Gloucester County, NJ.