Midstream

Additional environmental review of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline is likely to take the rest of the year to complete, US officials said in court documents in which they also advocate for keeping the line operating during the study. A federal judge ruled on 14 June that the environmental review for the Dakota Access pipeline was, in part, inadequate and must be reconsidered, handing tribal opponents of the 1,170-mile pipeline project a key legal victory.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, performed a life-cycle assessment for training several common large AI models. They found that the process can emit more than 626,000 lbm of carbon dioxide equivalent—nearly five times the lifetime emissions of the average American car. Southwest Research Institute is working to improve the accuracy of pipeline leak detection using sensors, artificial intelligence, and deep learning.

Unconventional oil and gas have come to dominate the exploration and development scene in Western Canada since 2005, much as they have in the US. As usually happens with new play ideas and trends, appraisal and development have generated a broad spectrum of results in Canadian Unconventional plays. The Energy East Pipeline involves the conversion of an existing TransCanada gas pipeline to oil service, as well as the construction of 1500 km of new pipeline. With a capacity of 1.1 million B/D, it will eliminate the need to import foreign crude oil to refineries in Quebec and New Brunswick.

A decision by the US District Court in Montana deals a blow to the TransCanada project, which is designed to transport heavy crude from Alberta to Nebraska. In February, President Obama vetoed legislation that would approve the construction of TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline. The 7-year regulatory saga is emblematic of the regulatory and public relations burdens on US energy projects. With the rejection of the bill, the burden will grow.

A US appeals court overturned a district court’s preliminary injunction that prevented construction on part of Energy Transfer Partners' Bayou Bridge crude oil pipeline in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana. The Texas Supreme Court ruled late in April that the Railroad Commission of Texas, the state’s oil and gas regulator, does not have exclusive jurisdiction over environmental contamination cases, which can be settled in court.

Norwegian suppliers Framo, Maritime Partner, Norbit Aptomar, and NorLense have come together to create the Oil Spill Recovery Vessel Group to offer a complete oil-spill-response solution. Workers who were likely exposed to dispersants while cleaning up the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill experienced a range of health symptoms including cough and wheeze and skin and eye irritation, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is cracking down on smaller violations in the crude oil, petroleum, and hazardous liquid industries to combat a slow rise in the number of pipeline accidents. Natural source zone depletion (NSZD) is the new technical term for naturally occurring biodegradation processes that reduce petroleum, nonaqueous-phase liquids (NAPL) from the subsurface. The appeals court ruled that, while regrettable, the fact that the spill occurred does not mean that ExxonMobil violated pipeline integrity regulations for risk assessment.

Ugandan farmer James Mubona, 73, looked pensive as he sat in a blue plastic chair under a mango tree next to three of his four wives, one breastfeeding a 5-month-old baby, contemplating the imminent loss of his 22-acre farm to an oil pipeline. The construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline sparked a broad, clamorous online debate on social media platforms. But was there a communications gap between the opponents and proponents of the pipeline on Twitter? A US appeals court overturned a district court’s preliminary injunction that prevented construction on part of Energy Transfer Partners' Bayou Bridge crude oil pipeline in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is cracking down on smaller violations in the crude oil, petroleum, and hazardous liquid industries to combat a slow rise in the number of pipeline accidents.

A hack on Italian oil services firm Saipem that crippled more than 300 of the company’s computers used a variant of the notorious Shamoon virus, Saipem said, a development that links the case to a massive attack in 2012 on Saudi Aramco. At least four US pipeline companies have seen their electronic systems for communicating with customers shut down over the last few days, with three confirming it resulted from a cyberattack.

The American Petroleum Institute announced the publication of its Guide for Developing an Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program, which will help ensure worker and operational safety as the industry introduces drones in its operations. An oil pipeline that runs across Saudi Arabia was hit by drones on 14 May west of its capital of Riyadh, the Saudi energy minister said, shortly after rebels in Yemen claimed they carried out coordinated drone strikes against the kingdom. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are lightweight, low-cost aircraft platforms operated from the ground that can be outfitted with imaging or nonimaging payloads. UASs offer health, safety, and environment professionals a promising opportunity to reduce risks by keeping people out of harm’s way. Iraq plans to use drones to monitor and protect its oil export and production pipelines from the first quarter of 2018, an oil ministry spokesman said on 18 December.

The Petroleum Authority of Uganda, together with the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Health Federation, held a one-day conference to discuss health investment opportunities in the oil and the gas sector while highlighting the standards expected. Ugandan farmer James Mubona, 73, looked pensive as he sat in a blue plastic chair under a mango tree next to three of his four wives, one breastfeeding a 5-month-old baby, contemplating the imminent loss of his 22-acre farm to an oil pipeline.