SUPERIOR, Wis. - Two oil pipeline projects expected to get under way this summer in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota will put about 2,000 construction workers on the job.
Although some regulatory approval is still needed, it is expected to come in time for the summer construction season.
The Enbridge Energy Pipeline projects are dubbed "Alberta Clipper" and "Southern Lights," but Plumbers and Steamfitters Business Agent Jeff Deveau calls them "a ray of sunshine.” Thirty percent of his Duluth-Superior union members are out of work.
"Locally here we've got 115 guys off right now and this job will help some of these guys from losing their homes, get health insurance again," he said.
Deveau says the recession is delaying or cancelling projects that otherwise would put his people to work.
Most of the 2,000 construction jobs will come in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Two of the three main contractors, Precision Pipeline of Eau Claire and Michel's Construction of Brownsville, are based in Wisconsin.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Pipeline malfunction blamed for diesel problem on Cenex system
MINOT, N.D. - A chemical malfunction in a local oil pipeline has sidelined a lot of truckers.
Cenex Harvest States says it happened along its pipeline at the Minot terminal.
An additive that is supposed to disappear before it goes to diesel fuel pumps is showing up in the fuel. That it has led to engine problems and forced some truckers to change their fuel filters almost daily.
CHS says as soon as it discovered the problem, workers took steps to correct it.
It’s also reimbursing retailers and customers.
While the fuel problems are isolated to diesel drawn from the Minot terminal, CHS estimates about 12 tanker loads of the bad diesel fuel went out to service stations.
"We were able to trace it back to our fuel distribution terminal in Minot which is one of the outlets for our pipeline that comes from our refinery in Laurel, Montana. We discovered the problem wasn’t with our fuel, it was with an additive product that is used to move the fuel smoothly down the pipeline and it is supposed to remove itself by the time it gets to the terminal and has been pumped and loaded out to customers," says CHS spokesperson Lani Jordan.
That’s a reference to what pipeliners commonly cause “slickum,” a polymer that makes fuel in pipelines more slippery so that they have less friction with pipeline walls.
Cenex Harvest States says it happened along its pipeline at the Minot terminal.
An additive that is supposed to disappear before it goes to diesel fuel pumps is showing up in the fuel. That it has led to engine problems and forced some truckers to change their fuel filters almost daily.
CHS says as soon as it discovered the problem, workers took steps to correct it.
It’s also reimbursing retailers and customers.
While the fuel problems are isolated to diesel drawn from the Minot terminal, CHS estimates about 12 tanker loads of the bad diesel fuel went out to service stations.
"We were able to trace it back to our fuel distribution terminal in Minot which is one of the outlets for our pipeline that comes from our refinery in Laurel, Montana. We discovered the problem wasn’t with our fuel, it was with an additive product that is used to move the fuel smoothly down the pipeline and it is supposed to remove itself by the time it gets to the terminal and has been pumped and loaded out to customers," says CHS spokesperson Lani Jordan.
That’s a reference to what pipeliners commonly cause “slickum,” a polymer that makes fuel in pipelines more slippery so that they have less friction with pipeline walls.
Friday, March 6, 2009
CenterPoint unit to transport natural gas for Chesapeake
HOUSTON - A subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy Inc. has agreed to transport natural gas for a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corp.
CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission Co., the interstate natural gas pipeline subsidiary of Houston-based CenterPoint Energy, will move the Haynesville shale natural gas production of Chesapeake Energy Marketing Inc., a subsidiary of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy.
The companies entered into two separate agreements to move gas to CenterPoint Energy Gas' Perryville Hub in northern Louisiana and from there to Carthage, Texas. CenterPoint owns and operates a 1.6 billion cubic feet per day pipeline between the two areas.
A 27-month backhaul agreement provides for gas volumes to ramp up to 500 million cubic feet per day of firm transportation capacity, with initial gas flows beginning April 1.
CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission Co., the interstate natural gas pipeline subsidiary of Houston-based CenterPoint Energy, will move the Haynesville shale natural gas production of Chesapeake Energy Marketing Inc., a subsidiary of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy.
The companies entered into two separate agreements to move gas to CenterPoint Energy Gas' Perryville Hub in northern Louisiana and from there to Carthage, Texas. CenterPoint owns and operates a 1.6 billion cubic feet per day pipeline between the two areas.
A 27-month backhaul agreement provides for gas volumes to ramp up to 500 million cubic feet per day of firm transportation capacity, with initial gas flows beginning April 1.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Magellan strikes sour note with plan to “simplify” capital structure
TULSA, Okla. – Stock in Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE: MMP) nosedived following a March 2 announcement that it had reached an agreement with Magellan Midstream Holdings, L.P. (NYSE: MGG) on March to “simplify” their capital structure by transforming the incentive distribution rights and approximately two percent economic interest of MMP's general partner into MMP common units.
Unitholders will receive 0.6325 MMP common units in exchange for each MGG common unit they own at closing, representing a 25 percent premium to the March 2 closing price of MGG's common units. The “simplification” will result in MGG being dissolved and in MMP owning its general partner, which will no longer have an economic interest in MMP.
Unitholders will receive 0.6325 MMP common units in exchange for each MGG common unit they own at closing, representing a 25 percent premium to the March 2 closing price of MGG's common units. The “simplification” will result in MGG being dissolved and in MMP owning its general partner, which will no longer have an economic interest in MMP.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
GE to invest $150 million in partnership with ATP in Gulf of Mexico
HOUSTON and STAMFORD, Conn. - GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE, has agreed to invest $150 million in a partnership with Houston-based ATP Oil & Gas Corp. which will own and operate a floating oil and gas production unit in deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
Subject to completion of customary closing conditions, GE Energy Financial Services will invest $150 million for a 49 percent limited partnership stake, its first investment in a floating oil and gas production facility.
ATP Oil & Gas will hold the remaining 51 percent stake and will serve as managing partner.
Subject to completion of customary closing conditions, GE Energy Financial Services will invest $150 million for a 49 percent limited partnership stake, its first investment in a floating oil and gas production facility.
ATP Oil & Gas will hold the remaining 51 percent stake and will serve as managing partner.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Spectra Energy caves in, gives up on Islander East Pipeline
HARTFORD, Conn. - Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp. and Westborough, Mass.-based National Grid USA are withdrawing their appeal to the U.S. Commerce Department to overturn Connecticut regulators' denial of environmental permits for the Islander East project, Spectra spokeswoman Toni Beck said on Feb. 26.
Spectra and National Grid had proposed a nearly 50-mile pipeline, which included a 23-mile section in Long Island Sound from Branford, Conn., through the Thimble Islands to Wading River, N.Y., on Long Island's north shore. They submitted their first application to federal officials in 2001.
The companies had appealed the permit rejections all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but justices declined to hear the case in December.
Connecticut officials claimed a final victory on Feb. 25 in their extended battle against the proposed Islander East pipeline after the project's developer withdrew its last appeal.
Spectra and National Grid had proposed a nearly 50-mile pipeline, which included a 23-mile section in Long Island Sound from Branford, Conn., through the Thimble Islands to Wading River, N.Y., on Long Island's north shore. They submitted their first application to federal officials in 2001.
The companies had appealed the permit rejections all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but justices declined to hear the case in December.
Connecticut officials claimed a final victory on Feb. 25 in their extended battle against the proposed Islander East pipeline after the project's developer withdrew its last appeal.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Alaska chides BP for mistakes leading to pipe blast on North Slope
ANCHORAGE - The Alaskan state government's Petroleum Systems Integrity Office has criticized maintenance procedures at BP PLC's Prudhoe Bay oil field that led to a potentially life-threatening gas pipeline explosion last year.
"The portion of the pipeline that ruptured went 10 years between (corrosion) inspections," said a letter from PSIO coordinator Allison Iversen to BP Exploration Alaska Senior Vice President Tony Brock dated Feb. 20. It is vital that BP, "implement a process to track and close out missed corrosion inspections...in time to prevent a similar incident," Iversen said.
She gave BP until May 15 to take all necessary corrective action.
Iversen also said she was "deeply concerned with the timeliness and depth of the incident investigation related to this event." The pipe ruptured on Sept. 29, 2008, but BP's review summary was not submitted until Jan. 13.
The letter was posted on the PSIO Web site.
"The portion of the pipeline that ruptured went 10 years between (corrosion) inspections," said a letter from PSIO coordinator Allison Iversen to BP Exploration Alaska Senior Vice President Tony Brock dated Feb. 20. It is vital that BP, "implement a process to track and close out missed corrosion inspections...in time to prevent a similar incident," Iversen said.
She gave BP until May 15 to take all necessary corrective action.
Iversen also said she was "deeply concerned with the timeliness and depth of the incident investigation related to this event." The pipe ruptured on Sept. 29, 2008, but BP's review summary was not submitted until Jan. 13.
The letter was posted on the PSIO Web site.
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