USA / EN
Middle East
México / EspanolOil and Gas
Natural Gas Surpassing Coal
Natural gas will be carrying the load in the U.S. soon. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is now forecasting that 2016 will be the first year that natural gas-fired generation exceeds coal generation in the United States on an annual basis. The EIA’s report states, “The mix of fuels used for electricity generation has evolved…
Read MoreLow Prices Are The Captain Now
In all the doom and gloom talk surrounding the low price of oil these days, there has been little talk of the upside, aside from lower prices for consumers at the gas pump. Shouldn’t there be some sort of bright side? Didn’t Newton say something about equal and opposite reactions? Should that apply here? I…
Read MoreOil Prices: What the what?
The falling price of oil Vox recently published a piece about oil prices, and it’s certainly worth a read. It explains the hows and whys of the tumbling price of oil in layman’s terms. Spoiler alert: it’s almost entirely a matter of supply and demand with a game of chicken between OPEC suppliers and US-based…
Read MoreOklahoma Earthquakes
What’s Shakin’? Around these parts, the earth trembling beneath your feet has become a regular occurrence the past few years. . According to NPR, the state experienced 5,700 earthquakes in 2015, which was a record year, and 2016 seems to be trending a similar direction. While regular earthquakes might be old hat to our friends…
Read MoreKenya see the political nonsense?
No to Keystone….Yes to Kenya …the Obama administration seems receptive to the idea of helping finance the construction of a new Kenya pipeline. This comes on the heels of TransCanada filing a federal lawsuit over the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, claiming the president lacks the authority to prohibit such construction. TransCanada has also…
Read MoreSalamanders on the Pipeline
Pipeline construction projects are large, complicated ordeals. Innumerable occurrences combine to make it all come together, and any number of things can derail those plans. Projects can be held up for years by politics. Or activists. Or market concerns. Or simply failing to use the most dependable beveling equipment, pipe clamps and welding tools can…
Read MoreRepair Pipelines!
Science Demands it! The peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters has published a study showing replacing aging gas pipeline had a tremendous effect on reducing the number and severity of leaks. That seems obvious, right? In an article in the Stanford Report, science professor at Stanford and co-author of the study Rob Jackson somewhat…
Read MorePipeline Pigging Robot
The crawler pig enters a pipeline at Pump Station 9 near Delta Junction for an inspection in May, 2015. Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. [photo credit: Alaska Dispatch News, adn.com] Pipeline Pigging Just a few weeks ago, we discussed the wonders of pipeline pigs and smart pigs and how they help prevent accidents in conjunction with quality…
Read MoreAmerican Oil and Gas
[image credit: Google image/http://texasalliance.org/oil-gas-pac/] How do we compare As July 4th approaches, it’s time to pat America on its proverbial back, which I suppose is somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The American Petroleum Institute published some numbers that chart the energy production of nations compared to individual states here in the U.S., and guess what,…
Read MorePipeline Pigging
Special tools known as in-line inspection tools or smart pigs are sent through pipelines to inspect the pipe for damage or corrosion that could lead to leaks. [image credit:www.neb-one.gc.ca | Google image search] Spill Prevention The recent oil spilled from a pipeline in California might bring to mind questions regarding the safety of pipelines. As…
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