Archive for the ‘pipelines’ Category
Worse than embarrassing
Posted in accidents, pipelines, Russia, tagged Angela Merkel, germany, NordStream on September 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Nord Stream pipeline investigation
Posted in accidents, natural gas, Norway, pipelines, Uncategorized, tagged germany, leaks, NordStream, Norway, pipelines, Sweden on September 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The quote below is encouraging. Hopefully, the technical team will be able to function independently, and will have strong leadership. I would like to see participation by the Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway.
“There are good teams in place to handle pipeline accidents, there are emergency pipe inventories and experts for onshore and offshore,” Jens Schumann, managing director of gas pipeline grid company Gasunie Deutschland, said.
Reuters
Meanwhile the seemingly straightforward Huntington Beach pipeline spill investigation drags on one year after the incident.
Nord Stream pipeline leaks: The plot thickens as Norwegian operators report mysterious drone sightings
Posted in accidents, Norway, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged leaks, Nord Stream, Norway, pipelines, PSA on September 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
This notice from the Petroleum Safety Authority of Norway adds yet another twist to the Nord Stream saga:
In recent times, Ptil has received several notices/messages from operator companies on the Norwegian continental shelf about observations of unidentified drones/aircraft in the vicinity of offshore facilities. We have called for increased vigilance from all operators and shipowners on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Here is Nord Stream’s update on their investigations into the pipeline leaks:
Nord Stream AG has started mobilization of all necessary resources for a survey campaign to assess the damages in cooperation exchange with relevant local authorities. Currently, it is not possible to estimate a timeframe for restoring the gas transport infrastructure. The causes of the incident will be clarified as a result of the investigation.
Meanwhile, Swedish seismologists have reported explosions near the leaks.
Another new Aera era!
Posted in California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Aera, Beta Unit, Exxon, Huntington Beach, IKAV, pipeline spill, Shell on September 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »
A fresh start for Aera Energy with IKAV, a German asset management company that purchased Aera from Shell and ExxonMobil.
From 1997 to 2007, Aera operated the Beta Unit offshore Huntington Beach. Since selling those facilities, all Aera operations have been conducted onshore, primarily in Kern County, a historically important California oil production area. Aera will continue to operate these onshore properties for IKAV, which looks like an interesting company.
Meanwhile, the Beta Unit has been in the news because of the October 2021 spill from the pipeline transporting Beta Unit production from Platform Elly to shore.
Still waiting for the investigation report on the Huntington Beach pipeline spill, but Amplify settles with State and County governments
Posted in California, oil spill response, pipelines, Regulation, tagged Amplify, California, Huntington Beach, Orange County, pipeline spill on September 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
In addition to the settlement with the Dept. of Justice, the pipeline operator has reached settlements with the State and County. In addition to a $4.9 million fine, the company agreed to inspection and leak detection measures similar to those in the Federal settlement.
Interesting commitments in the Amplify Energy Plea Agreement (Huntington Beach pipeline spill)
Posted in accidents, California, pipelines, Regulation, tagged alarms, Amplify, BSEE, DOT, Huntington Beach, lead detection, pipeline spill, plea agreement, USCG on August 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »
In addition to the penalty and reimbursement elements of the plea agreement, there are two Amplify commitments that may be of particular interest to BOE readers:
- New leak detection system for the pipeline: More information on the leak detection improvements for this low pressure oil pipeline would be helpful.
- Notification to regulators of all leak detection alarms:
- Which regulators? DOT? BSEE? State? All?
- Real time reporting or periodic compilations? With real time reporting for every alarm, the distinction between the pipeline operator and regulator(s) would be blurred and new organizational and competence risks would be added. The probability of communications errors and delayed decisions would increase, and the operator would no longer be accountable for bad decisions.
Also, given that the investigating agencies have still not issued their report on the October 2021 spill and no action has yet been taken against the shipping companies that caused the pipeline rupture, the congratulatory Coast Guard, EPA, FBI, and DOT quotes in the announcement seem rather premature and self-serving.
Two final thoughts:
- When will there be an independent review of the complex, inconsistent multi-agency regulatory regime for offshore pipelines?
- BSEE, the Federal bureau that inspects the Beta Unit facilities and approves the spill response plan, was apparently not part of the Unified Command and is not mentioned in the DOJ release. Why?
Amplify Energy settles Huntington Beach pipeline spill litigation
Posted in accidents, California, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Amplify, Huntington Beach, pipeline spill on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Martyn Willsher, Amplify’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement in principle regarding the civil litigation resulting from the Southern California Pipeline Incident last October. Although we are unable to provide additional detail at this time, we negotiated in good faith and believe we have come to a reasonable and fair resolution. We will continue to vigorously pursue our substantial claims for damages against the ships that struck our pipeline, and the Marine Exchange of Southern California that failed to notify us of the anchor strikes.”
Amplify Energy
- 11 months after the spill, the Coast Guard has still not issued their investigation report.
- Amplify is suing the operators of the container ships that allegedly dragged anchors over the pipeline.
Eastern Mediterranean continues to shine, but the end-game remains uncertain
Posted in energy policy, natural gas, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Cyprus, EastMed pipeline, Eni, Israel on August 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Eni announces another deepwater gas discovery:
- Offshore Cyprus
- Cronos-1 well; Block 6 on map
- 2287m water depth
- >2.5 tcf
The challenge is getting the 100+ trillion cubic feet of gas to European markets. The East Med Poseidon Gas Pipeline (map below) makes the most sense, but the current US administration inexplicably opposes this project. Other options include LNG via Egypt, a pipeline to Turkey, and a floating LNG facility.
Got smart-pigged 😀
Posted in Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, Uncategorized, tagged colonoscopy, pipeline inspection, smart pig on August 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The internal inspection of my pipeline (colon) went well. Dr. Axelrad is an excellent smart pig operator.
Shell restarts Mars pipeline
Posted in accidents, Gulf of Mexico, Offshore Energy - General, pipelines, tagged Gulf of Mexico oil production, Mars pipeline, Shell on August 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Assuming no significant tropical storm shutdowns this month, we should get a good read on the impact of the pipeline outage when the EIA production data for August are posted.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 