Infrastructure

In its latest update about the explosion and fire onTexas Eastern pipeline’s Penn-Jersey line in the M3 Zone,Spectra Energy Corp. said work is progressing to restore capacity through the Delmont compressor station. The blast in Southwest Pennsylvania caused serious property damage and sent one resident to the hospital (see Shale Daily, April 29). After the explosion, flows beginning at the Delmont compressor — the western boundary of the M3 zone — were cut to zero, with flows affected eastward. About 1 Bcf/d of natural gas flows on the system have been cut (see Shale Daily, May 2). Spectra said in an update that some capacity through the compressor could be available this week. The company said it continues to work with federal regulators investigating the incident. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued a corrective action order to the company requiring it to determine the cause of the incident and ensure the safety of three pipelines that run parallel to the one that ruptured. The cause remains unclear, but PHMSA indicated in its order that corrosion was the likely cause (see Shale Daily, May 4). According to the order, the blast left a crater 30 feet wide, 50 feet long and 12 feet deep. The explosion, the order said, launched about 25 feet of the 30-inch pipeline 100 feet from the site of the explosion.

Although the low price commodity environment is causing delays in some of its major capital investment projects, Tesoro Corp. likes the economics for its crude by rail option for shipping Bakken Shale supplies to its West Coast refineries, CEO Greg Goff said Thursday on an earnings conference call.

Corporate and government sector policymakers are gravitating toward increased use of alternative transportation fuels, including natural gas and renewable natural gas (RNG). The CEO of the nation’s largest gas utility said that in the years ahead all of the alternatives from electric vehicles (EV) to fuel cell technology will be needed.

FERC has issued a presidential permit authorizing international border-crossing facilities near the city of Presidio in Presidio County, TX, and the Mexican city of Manuel Ojinaga in the state of Chihuahua for the Trans-Pecos natural gas pipeline.

In its latest update about the explosion and fire onTexas Eastern pipeline’s Penn-Jersey line in the M3 Zone,Spectra Energy Corp. said work is progressing to restore capacity through the Delmont compressor station. The blast in Southwest Pennsylvania caused serious property damage and sent one resident to the hospital (see Shale Daily, April 29). After the explosion, flows beginning at the Delmont compressor — the western boundary of the M3 zone — were cut to zero, with flows affected eastward. About 1 Bcf/d of natural gas flows on the system have been cut (see Shale Daily, May 2). Spectra said in an update that some capacity through the compressor could be available this week. The company said it continues to work with federal regulators investigating the incident. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued a corrective action order to the company requiring it to determine the cause of the incident and ensure the safety of three pipelines that run parallel to the one that ruptured. The cause remains unclear, but PHMSA indicated in its order that corrosion was the likely cause (see Shale Daily, May 4). According to the order, the blast left a crater 30 feet wide, 50 feet long and 12 feet deep. The explosion, the order said, launched about 25 feet of the 30-inch pipeline 100 feet from the site of the explosion.

Although the low price commodity environment is causing delays in some of its major capital investment projects, Tesoro Corp. likes the economics for its crude by rail option for shipping Bakken Shale supplies to its West Coast refineries, CEO Greg Goff said Thursday on an earnings conference call.

Corporate and government sector policymakers are gravitating toward increased use of alternative transportation fuels, including natural gas and renewable natural gas (RNG). The CEO of the nation’s largest gas utility said that in the years ahead all of the alternatives from electric vehicles (EV) to fuel cell technology will be needed.

In separate forums this week, senior executives of Sempra Energy and its Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) utility began to deconstruct the unprecedented four-month natural gas storage well leak, which was sealed in mid-February, as underscoring the criticality of close electric-gas grid coordination and the heavily populated region’s energy reliability.

FERC staff has issued a favorable draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the Atlantic Sunrise project of Williams Partners’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC (Transco).