Oil production increases Railroad growth
Oil production increases Railroad growth
“US President Barack Obama in his second inaugural speech called for a $50 billion upgrade of the US transportation infrastructure, including rail that political analysts say will be hard to finance.”
“The rapidly growing need for more rail transportation of crude has triggered sizeable investments in both loading and unloading facilities and soaring orders for tank cars “making movement of oil by rail a major growth market for North American railroads,”
The rapid increase of North American crude production has resulted in pipeline bottlenecks in some areas, forcing more reliance on rail transportation to access some of the highest-value markets
http://www.ogj.com/articles/2013/02/working-on-the-railroads.html
Is the Keystone XL Pipeline Worth Getting Arrested For?
Is the Keystone XL Pipeline Worth Getting Arrested For?
“Last week, four dozen opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline were trying to convince President Obama to reject federal approval for the line, which aims to carry crude oil from Canada and North Dakota’s Bakken shale crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast. But if opponents of the Keystone pipeline are going to stop the flow of crude, they are going to have to do more than just get arrested or hold a rally—they are going to have block nearly every north-south rail line in North America.”
The Keystone XL is designed to transport 830,000 barrels per day. There is currently nothing new in moving oil by rail cars. Currently, U.S. and Canadian oil producers are building rail car terminals so they can ship their product to the market. Other countries around the world are doing the same as well.
Keystone XL protesters raid TransCanada’s Houston Office
Keystone XL protesters raid TransCanada’s Houston Office
“A group of Keystone XL protesters managed to shut down part of TransCanada’s office in Houston on Monday after storming the building and staging a “die-in” while banging drums, blowing horns and piloting a “pipeline dragon” in circles around them.”
The group complained that the pipeline will be harmful to the people who live nearby as well as the animals in the environment.
“Although TransCanada does not yet have authorization to build the northern leg of the pipeline between Canada and the U.S., the southern leg from Oklahoma to Houston has already been the source of much protest in East Texas.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/08/keystone-xl-protesters-raid-transcanadas-houston-office/
2 Pipelines companies are ready for the New Year to begin
2 Pipelines companies are ready for the New Year to begin
Enbridge and Enterprise have just announced that the expansion work on the Seaway is complete, bringing its Cushing takeaway capacity up from 150,000 to 400,000 per day. This pipeline carries crude oil from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf coast. These two companies are among the biggest players in the midstream company.
“Like Enbridge, Enterprise operates pipelines -- more than 50,000 miles of them -- but it has plenty of other assets that generate cash. Its business mix includes natural gas pipelines and processing centers, natural gas liquid (NGL) pipelines and fractionating facilities, storage facilities, and terminals”
“Production in North America is still growing and pegged to continue doing so for at least the next few years, which means volumes across the systems of companies such as Enbridge and Enterprise will continue to grow as well. Expect these stocks to grow this year.”
http://http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/01/12/2-pipeline-stocks-poised-for-profits-in.aspx
The Chocolate Industry Today
The Chocolate Industry Today
We’ve heard of pipelines used for oil to be transported, but what about chocolate? “Nowadays it is almost impossible to think about a chocolate industry without pigging technology. Not only chocolate masses and fillings can be transported through pipelines but also problematic products such as cocoa, nuts or crunches.”
How is chocolate transported? “Chocolate is transported through the pipeline with a temperature of 45-50°C. When the product has a lower temperature than that, there is no possibility to pump and / or store the chocolate.” There is no need to stop the flow of chocolate, except on the weekends, when most of the factories are closed. “The standing still of chocolate in a pipeline however may cause sediments to build in the pipe. The fructose in diet chocolate can crystallize and thus spoil the whole batch”
Pigging is also a very important factor in the chocolate pipelines. It means that the contents of a pipe is pushed out with a contoured plug aka the pig. This method is used all over the food industry. These types of plants are fully automated which means they are controlled by machines to optimize productivity in the production of goods and delivery of services.
http://www.piggingsystems.com/en/industries/chocolate-industry/
Shell okays Quest CCS project in Alberta
On July 12th, 2012, Shell Canada LTD. has recently approved construction in regards to the First Commercial Carbon Capture and Storage Project also known as CCS.
Scotford Upgrader near Edmonton, Atlanta, and the Quest Facility will capture more than 1 million tons per year of Carbon Dioxide produced and transport it through an 80-KM pipeline to a site up in the North.
The Shell Company stated “it has received all necessary federal and provincial permits and has begun construction.”
In Result, the Alberta Government is investing $745 million in the Quest Project from a $2 billion fun designed to support the CCS Development. Furthermore, the Canadian Government is also investing $120 million through its Clean Energy Fund.
Marcellus Shale giving boost to US Midstream Firms
“Anticipated growth in Marcellus shale natural gas production likely will mean more long-term business for US midstream companies, Fitch Ratings said in a recent report in which analysts forecast Marcellus production during the next 5 years will grow to more than 10 bcfd from the current 4 bcfd.
Expanding Marcellus production will require midstream companies to expand gathering and processing services and provide pipelines to transport gas and associated natural gas liquids.”
“Marcellus production has begun displacing supplies that traditionally served eastern US markets and more gas is expected to be produced than the region can consume.
As Marcellus production ramps up, pipeline expansions and flow reversals will enable that gas to reach Canada, New England, the Atlantic states, the Gulf of Mexico region, the Midcontinent, and the Midwest.”
http://www.ogj.com/articles/2012/07/fitch-marcellus-shale-giving-boost-to-us-midstream-firms.html
Forest fires and the affect on Pipelines
A forest fire had started on June 23, in the Pike National Forest. The fire exploded eastward toward the city, destroying 346 homes and killing two people.
“According to fire officials, they expect to have the Waldo Canyon Fire fully contained on July 16. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The cost of the fire is estimated at $8.8 million.”
I believe the weather has a major impact on these fires in Colorado- lately we have seen the temperature rise up from 95 to 105! If the fires come across any pipelines this could be bad news. Thankfully- there are not any pipelines in the area where the fires are currently at in Colorado. If a pipeline is damaged, natural gas could escape causing fires, explosions, or asphyxiation.
http://www.9news.com/news/local/article/275442/222/Residents-see-Waldo-Canyon-Fire-damage-firsthand
Flanged Valves and More At GVC
- NEB Schedules Hearing For Trans Mountain Firm Service Application- Mar 25, 2011
- Marcellus Midstream 2011: Sensor-based Technologies Are A Focus For Pipeline Research- Mar 24, 2011
- Niobrara Midstream- Mar 18, 2011
- Rockies Midstream Infrastructure- Mar 18, 2011
- Mackenzie Gas Project Receives NEB Approval- Mar 18, 2011
Is Obama Dismantling the Trans-Alaska Pipeline?
The popular conservative website The Daily Caller ran with the sensational headline Thursday entitled "Pipe Down," followed with a photo of the Trans-Alaska pipeline snaking its way right toward the reader. The story led with the following paraphrase of U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, the feisty Republican who chairs the House Resource Committee:
"The Obama administration is setting the stage for the dismantling of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and poses the greatest threat to its existence today," so the lede goes.
The pipeline is indeed in danger of running dry. Once it carried more than two million barrels a day. Now its throughput is at about 600,000 barrels a day, and declining about 5 percent a year. If nothing is done to put more oil in the line, that amount is expected to be around 350,000 in 10 years.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., the consortium that runs the pipeline, doesn't yet know at what point the pipeline itself will have to shut. But with such low levels of oil running through it, water, ice and wax builds could result in extended shut-downs of the pipeline.
Needless to say, President Obama does not have the power -- neither legally nor politically -- to dismantle much at all these days, to say nothing of an 800-mile tube of steel running through some of Alaska's most inhospitable lands.
But Obama does have some say over oil and gas development on federal lands, and federal waters, oil that would eventually run down the TAPS.
And in this matter, the article says, the president has been more on the side of "'far-left environmentalists' than in preserving a pipeline that carries approximately 10 percent of the nation's daily oil output..."
Surprised? Some are, especially the coalition of environmentalists who have been fighting offshore oil and gas development in Arctic Alaska.
"Anyone who claims that the Obama administration is on the same page as environmental groups is reality-impaired," said Brendan Cummings, senior counsel for the Center for Biological Diversity, the environmental group that's been on the forefront of fighting Arctic oil and gas developments.
"The Obama administration," Cummings continued, "is largely indistinguishable from the Bush administration," on policies related to offshore and onshore federal lands in Alaska.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alaskadispatchcom/obama-alaska-pipeline_b_938624.html