Report about cause of 2010 Mich. oil spill delayed

The release of a federal report detailing the cause of a 2010 pipeline rupture that spilled more than 800,000 gallons of oil in southern Michigan has been delayed. The report is expected to be released this fall, about six months later than expected, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/zkCAau). The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the [...]

Northern Gateway regulatory decision expected months later than Enbridge target

CALGARY – The regulatory panel weighing the controversial Northern Gateway oil pipeline said Tuesday it will likely make its decision in about two years, several months later than estimated by the builder, Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. The proposed 1,200-kilometre pipeline would ship oilsands crude from Alberta to Kitimat, B.C., where it would be loaded onto tankers [...]

Water line break & corrosion a headache for Tucson Water

Aging water lines are a problem for Tucson Water. They often break causing big headaches. But what happens when lines that are relatively new break. Solving that problem goes from headache to migraine. A 24 inch line broke in front of Miller Elementary School at Camino de la Tierra and Avenida de Isabel. Because it was not [...]

Alyeska agrees to $600,000 penalty to settle federal cases

The operator of the trans-Alaska pipeline has reached a settlement with federal regulators to resolve four enforcement cases dating back to 2006. Under the deal, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. will pay a civil penalty of $600,000, which represents a considerable savings over the sum of penalties the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials [...]

Stretching, Staffing and Pipeline Integrity Management

According to MATCOR’s Nick Judd, Houston-based corrosion engineer, “The company used to pick up less than 200 miles a year in pipeline integrity management (PIM) projects. Today, we are already doing more PIM; we’re growing to serve much more, and it’s no stretch to say we’ve got the capabilities.” In deploying a broader range of [...]

Workers repairing the damaged Maui pipeline in New Zealand

Gas supplies to industrial consumers look set to be partially restored this afternoon as workers repair the damaged Maui pipeline in north Taranaki. Acting Energy and Resources Minister Hekia Parata told a media conference in Auckland this morning there were adequate gas supplies already in the pipeline north of the breach to allow some major [...]

Waterville council considers $80 million natural gas line

Officials proposing to build an $80 million natural gas pipeline through central Maine got both support and questions at a City Council meeting earlier this week. Mark Isaacson and Anthony Buxton, partners in Kennebec Valley Gas Co., are seeking a tax increment financing agreement with Waterville and 11 other communities on the proposed line, which [...]

US Senate approves pipeline safety bill

The Senate unanimously approved a pipeline safety bill that stemmed from a spate of incidents, including last year’s deadly explosion in San Bruno, California. The measure had been held up by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who lifted his hold after reaching agreement with Democrats to add a key recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board. Usually wary of regulatory oversight, Paul [...]

Feds focus on new products, not aging pipelines

The only government research program dedicated to improving the safety of U.S. natural-gas pipelines has no plans to study whether key federal investigative recommendations made in the wake of the San Bruno disaster might save lives, officials say. In drawing lessons from the September 2010 explosion of a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. pipeline in [...]

MATCOR’s SPL Linear Anode Proves Ideal for Retrofit Project

Arkema is a world class producer of industrial chemicals, but its King of Prussia, PA Research and Development facility looks more like a college campus building than your typical industrial facility.  And yet, like any industrial facility, the site has buried utility piping that is subject to external corrosion.   When the facility experienced steam [...]