PIERRE - TransCanada Keystone Pipeline company has applied to the state Public Utilities Commission for a permit to construct its second crude-oil pipeline through South Dakota, this time through the sparsely populated ranch country west of the Missouri River.
The Calgary-based company’s construction timetable calls for work to begin in South Dakota in 2011 and service to begin in 2012, with a peak construction work force of up to 1,400 people during the months of May through August of 2011.
The company is looking at the potential for expanding and developing recreation-vehicle parks to help handle lodging for the construction workforce.
The PUC will need to hold a formal hearing on the permit and establish a process to take public comments and allow for other parties to intervene, similar to the hearing held in December 2007 on TransCanada’s first pipeline through South Dakota.
State regulators likely will start discussing the timetable and related steps for the permitting process at the PUC’s next meeting March 24.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Magellan, Poet considering U.S. ethanol pipeline joint venture
TULSA, Okla. - Magellan Midstream Partners said on March 16 that it has signed a joint agreement with Poet, the largest U.S. ethanol producer, to study building a dedicated pipeline to carry the biofuel from the U.S. Midwest into the Northeast.
The proposed $3.5 billion pipeline system would gather ethanol from distilleries in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to serve terminals in major Northeastern markets.
Amid U.S. mandates calling for greater amounts of ethanol to be blended into the gasoline pool through 2022, companies are boosting efforts to see if shipping ethanol through pipelines can be a less expensive, safer alternative to sending it on trucks and trains.
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, one of the largest energy pipeline companies in North America, has been sending batches of ethanol through a 105-mile petroleum products pipeline in Florida.
Magellan, which owns and operates a major oil products pipeline in the Midwest, had originally announced in February 2008 it would work with Buckeye Partners LP to jointly study a large alternative fuel pipeline project. Buckeye recently decided to discontinue its role in that project.
Poet, which produces more than 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol a year from 26 plants across the Midwest, and Magellan said federal legislation revising the U.S. Department of Energy's loan guarantee program is critical for the project, which would span 1,700 miles, to move forward.
The proposed $3.5 billion pipeline system would gather ethanol from distilleries in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to serve terminals in major Northeastern markets.
Amid U.S. mandates calling for greater amounts of ethanol to be blended into the gasoline pool through 2022, companies are boosting efforts to see if shipping ethanol through pipelines can be a less expensive, safer alternative to sending it on trucks and trains.
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, one of the largest energy pipeline companies in North America, has been sending batches of ethanol through a 105-mile petroleum products pipeline in Florida.
Magellan, which owns and operates a major oil products pipeline in the Midwest, had originally announced in February 2008 it would work with Buckeye Partners LP to jointly study a large alternative fuel pipeline project. Buckeye recently decided to discontinue its role in that project.
Poet, which produces more than 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol a year from 26 plants across the Midwest, and Magellan said federal legislation revising the U.S. Department of Energy's loan guarantee program is critical for the project, which would span 1,700 miles, to move forward.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Valero agrees to recall propane gas
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on March 12 that Valero Marketing & Supply Co. has voluntarily agreed to recall tanks of propane gas sold in five states.
The recall affects retailers in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Valero manufactured 919,000 barrels of propane gas from January to October 2008 that contains an odorant that helps alert consumers to a gas leak. However, the propane Valero manufactured and sold might not have the recommended level of odorant. Failure to detect leaking gas can present a fire, explosion
or thermal burn hazard to consumers, according to the Consumer
Product Safety Commission.
There have been no incidents or injuries reported as a result of the sale of propane. However, consumers who may have bought the propane are asked to call the Consumer Product Safety Commission's hotline at 1-800-638-2772 or Valero's recall hotline at 1-866-940-8235.
The recall affects retailers in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Valero manufactured 919,000 barrels of propane gas from January to October 2008 that contains an odorant that helps alert consumers to a gas leak. However, the propane Valero manufactured and sold might not have the recommended level of odorant. Failure to detect leaking gas can present a fire, explosion
or thermal burn hazard to consumers, according to the Consumer
Product Safety Commission.
There have been no incidents or injuries reported as a result of the sale of propane. However, consumers who may have bought the propane are asked to call the Consumer Product Safety Commission's hotline at 1-800-638-2772 or Valero's recall hotline at 1-866-940-8235.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Company hits gas line in Tennessee, then calls for permission to dig
BRISTOL, Tenn. - The company responsible for a March 10 natural gas leak in downtown Bristol called in a dig request after the fact, a state official said on March 11.
Even though failing to acquire a permit before digging is a misdemeanor, it remains unclear if any charges will be filed against McCall Commercial Fencing, based in Johnson City.
McCall called the Tennessee Regulatory Agency on March 10, about 30 minutes after one of its workers hit an underground gas line, said Bill Turner, executive director of Tennessee One-Call, the state group tasked with monitoring underground utilities.
"They called in ... 2:30 eastern time," Turner said in a phone interview with a local newspaper. "It was not an emergency call, it was just a normal dig request."
About 2 p.m., a half-hour earlier, the workers had hit the line while drilling fence post holes in a parking lot behind a downtown pottery business.
In Tennessee, failure to call before digging is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 48 hours in jail, a $2,500 fine, or both.
Atmos Energy, the Dallas, Texas,-based company that owns the underground gas line, could bill the fence company for the cost of natural gas lost as well as for capping the leak. "They're still calculating the total cost," Atmos Energy spokesman Joel Amos said.
Bristol Tennessee City Manager Jeff Broughton said the city will not seek to recover the cost of police and fire department manpower needed to clear sections of downtown Tuesday. "We don't typically act on something like that," Broughton said.
The accident sent gas shooting upward into the air and prompted emergency officials to evacuate businesses in the immediate area, re-route traffic and shut down that section of State and Shelby streets. Fire officials called it a very dangerous situation.
It isn't unusual for businesses to call after the fact, Turner said. "It's not legal, but sometimes these contractors roll the dice, do the work and then – if they hit something – call in. The law says you're supposed to give three working days notice."
State agencies have no authority to prosecute, however. "That's up to the local authorities," Turner said. "We're having problems getting localities to prosecute, because they've got murderers and rapists to deal with."
Larry Borum, chief gas pipeline safety officer for the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, which sets the rates and service standards of privately owned utilities, said third-party damage is the leading cause of problems with underground utilities nationwide.
"This contractor won't face the TRA, but we're working to get some legislation passed that would change that," Borum said in a phone interview. "Tennessee's damage loss prevention law has little or no enforcement." (Source: David McGee and Michael Owens, Bristol Herald Courier, March 12, 2009)
Even though failing to acquire a permit before digging is a misdemeanor, it remains unclear if any charges will be filed against McCall Commercial Fencing, based in Johnson City.
McCall called the Tennessee Regulatory Agency on March 10, about 30 minutes after one of its workers hit an underground gas line, said Bill Turner, executive director of Tennessee One-Call, the state group tasked with monitoring underground utilities.
"They called in ... 2:30 eastern time," Turner said in a phone interview with a local newspaper. "It was not an emergency call, it was just a normal dig request."
About 2 p.m., a half-hour earlier, the workers had hit the line while drilling fence post holes in a parking lot behind a downtown pottery business.
In Tennessee, failure to call before digging is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 48 hours in jail, a $2,500 fine, or both.
Atmos Energy, the Dallas, Texas,-based company that owns the underground gas line, could bill the fence company for the cost of natural gas lost as well as for capping the leak. "They're still calculating the total cost," Atmos Energy spokesman Joel Amos said.
Bristol Tennessee City Manager Jeff Broughton said the city will not seek to recover the cost of police and fire department manpower needed to clear sections of downtown Tuesday. "We don't typically act on something like that," Broughton said.
The accident sent gas shooting upward into the air and prompted emergency officials to evacuate businesses in the immediate area, re-route traffic and shut down that section of State and Shelby streets. Fire officials called it a very dangerous situation.
It isn't unusual for businesses to call after the fact, Turner said. "It's not legal, but sometimes these contractors roll the dice, do the work and then – if they hit something – call in. The law says you're supposed to give three working days notice."
State agencies have no authority to prosecute, however. "That's up to the local authorities," Turner said. "We're having problems getting localities to prosecute, because they've got murderers and rapists to deal with."
Larry Borum, chief gas pipeline safety officer for the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, which sets the rates and service standards of privately owned utilities, said third-party damage is the leading cause of problems with underground utilities nationwide.
"This contractor won't face the TRA, but we're working to get some legislation passed that would change that," Borum said in a phone interview. "Tennessee's damage loss prevention law has little or no enforcement." (Source: David McGee and Michael Owens, Bristol Herald Courier, March 12, 2009)
Friday, March 13, 2009
ConocoPhillips says Denali gas pipeline to be in service by 2019
ANCHORAGE - ConocoPhillips and BP Plc plan to bring their proposed natural gas pipeline in Alaska into service by 2019, a ConocoPhillips executive said during the company's analyst meeting on March 11.
The Denali pipeline, estimated to cost $30 billion, is expected to begin accepting bids for gas transportation in 2010, said Ryan Lance, the company's president of exploration and production for Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The companies had previously said the pipeline could begin transporting gas as soon as 2018.
The 2,000-mile pipeline proposed by BP and ConocoPhillips would bring two billion cubic feet of gas a day, or six to eight percent of total U.S. daily consumption, from Alaska's North Slope to Alberta, Canada. The companies may also build a 1,500-mile pipeline extension from Alberta to Chicago.
Alaska officials are reviewing a competing proposal from TransCanada Corp. backed by Gov. Sarah Palin, who during the 2008 presidential race implied that she had already arranged for the gas pipeline to be built.
Only one pipeline is likely to be built, if any, and it may well be Denali rather than the TransCanada proposal backed by Palin.
The Denali pipeline, estimated to cost $30 billion, is expected to begin accepting bids for gas transportation in 2010, said Ryan Lance, the company's president of exploration and production for Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The companies had previously said the pipeline could begin transporting gas as soon as 2018.
The 2,000-mile pipeline proposed by BP and ConocoPhillips would bring two billion cubic feet of gas a day, or six to eight percent of total U.S. daily consumption, from Alaska's North Slope to Alberta, Canada. The companies may also build a 1,500-mile pipeline extension from Alberta to Chicago.
Alaska officials are reviewing a competing proposal from TransCanada Corp. backed by Gov. Sarah Palin, who during the 2008 presidential race implied that she had already arranged for the gas pipeline to be built.
Only one pipeline is likely to be built, if any, and it may well be Denali rather than the TransCanada proposal backed by Palin.
Nustar poised to benefit from higher pipeline tariffs, asphalt production
Effective July 1, NuStar Energy LP’s tariffs increase by about 7.5 percent. The tariffs reset automatically based on inflation-indexed increases.
NuStar also stands to benefit from another source. About one quarter of its operating earnings come from its two asphalt refineries.
Like all refining operations, NuStar's margins in asphalt vary from quarter to quarter. There are several potential positives for the asphalt markets. On the supply front, several companies that used to produce asphalt have stopped doing so. The reason is that most refiners have set up their operations to maximize production of light products such as gasoline and diesel fuels. These companies have installed special equipment that allows them to turn heavy residual products like asphalt into lighter, higher-value products.
As a result, U.S. asphalt production in 2008 was off 10 percent and imports were down nearly 50 percent against 2007 levels. This leaves less competition for NuStar's dedicated asphalt refineries.
NuStar also stands to benefit from another source. About one quarter of its operating earnings come from its two asphalt refineries.
Like all refining operations, NuStar's margins in asphalt vary from quarter to quarter. There are several potential positives for the asphalt markets. On the supply front, several companies that used to produce asphalt have stopped doing so. The reason is that most refiners have set up their operations to maximize production of light products such as gasoline and diesel fuels. These companies have installed special equipment that allows them to turn heavy residual products like asphalt into lighter, higher-value products.
As a result, U.S. asphalt production in 2008 was off 10 percent and imports were down nearly 50 percent against 2007 levels. This leaves less competition for NuStar's dedicated asphalt refineries.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
KBR hid danger of hexavalent chromium from U.S. soldiers protecting it in Iraq
PORTLAND, Ore. - In addition to gouging the U.S. government, KBR can now take credit for widespread cancers prevalent in U.S. troops assigned to provide security for its employees while it went about its lucrative mission of restoring Iraq’s oil industry.
Dust coated the combat boots and caked the skin of soldiers assigned to protect KBR Halliburton employees and contractors restoring oil flow in Iraq in 2003. Dust puffed from the soldiers' uniforms as they crowded into vans at the end of the day and shared tents at night.
When the dust blew onto Spc. Larry Roberta's ready-to-eat meal, he rinsed the chicken patty with his canteen water and ate it.
Six months later, doctors discovered the flap into Roberta's stomach had disintegrated. Six years later, the Marine and former police officer can no longer walk to the mailbox or work.
Another Oregon soldier, Sgt. Nicholas Thomas, died of complications of leukemia at age 21. Three others have reported lung problems to headquarters. Five more told The Oregonian they suffer chronic coughs, rashes and immune system disorders.
The Oregon National Guard soldiers who went to Iraq faced exposure to hexavalent chromium, which greatly increased their risk of contracting cancer and other diseases. It was in the orange and yellow dust spread over half of the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant by fleeing Saddam supporters.
Scientists call the carcinogen a Trojan horse because the damage may not be immediately obvious. Over time, people can develop different cancers, breathing problems, stomach ulcers or damage to the digestive tract.
Ninety-three Oregon soldiers may still not know that they have been exposed to hexavalent chromium. The Oregon Guard sent registered letters notifying them March 6, six years after their deployment.
Officials say they didn't learn of the problem themselves until November 2008, when the Army, spurred by lawsuits in Indiana and Texas and a subsequent Senate investigation, alerted the Oregon Guard. The suits claim KBR ignored both a United Nations report and its own employees' warnings about the danger.
The Oregon Guard has sent 286 letters to soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry Division, about possible exposure. Fewer than 20 have responded to the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Guard.
The 1/162 was broken up in an Army reorganization in 2006. Fewer than half of the soldiers who were deployed are still in the Guard. Forty letters have been returned unopened. The Portland Veterans Administration’s chief environmental-agent doctor has seen only four soldiers.
Larry and Michelle Roberta of Aumsville received the Guard's letter Feb. 26 notifying them of his possible exposure. They set the letter aside. Roberta has known since July 2003 when an Army medic recorded exposure to hexavalent chromium at the water plant.
"We knew he was exposed since the very beginning," says Michelle Roberta, 38. "I sent a very healthy man over there. He did not come back."
The 1/162 arrived at its base of operations in Kuwait on April 18, 2003, and within weeks, the soldiers were assigned to escort and protect KBR contractors on a mission called "Restore Iraqi Oil."
Houston-based Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, then a subsidiary of Halliburton, which was headed by Dick Cheney before he became U.S. vice president in the George W. Bush administration, won the contract to get the oil flowing in Iraq. Repairing the water treatment plant, which maintained pressure in nearby oil wells, was a top priority.
Soldiers, officers and the undersecretary of the Army's manager for the project say that Oregon platoons rotated from Kuwait into Iraq in three- to four-day intervals from April 2003 until June 2003. Oregon soldiers met KBR workers at a rest stop on the main highway into Iraq, then accompanied them in the contractors' SUVs to pipelines, oil fields or the water treatment plant.
Just weeks after the Indiana Guard replaced the Oregonians, a new KBR safety officer arrived at the water treatment plant at Qarmat Ali. Ed Blacke was shocked by the widespread orange and yellow dust piled feet deep in places. The powder, he learned, was a corrosion fighter that contained hexavalent chromium. Soon he had sinus, throat and breathing problems, and found that 60 percent of the soldiers and staff at Qarmat Ali had identical symptoms. KBR managers told him it was "a nonissue."
Blacke described the sequence of events to a Senate committee in June 2008.
According to a subsequent Senate query, KBR did not test the site until August 2003 or notify the Army until September 2003. The Indiana Guard learned of the contamination when KBR managers showed up in protective suits. KBR closed the plant shortly after. (Source: Julie Sullivan, The Oregonian, March 7, 2009)
Dust coated the combat boots and caked the skin of soldiers assigned to protect KBR Halliburton employees and contractors restoring oil flow in Iraq in 2003. Dust puffed from the soldiers' uniforms as they crowded into vans at the end of the day and shared tents at night.
When the dust blew onto Spc. Larry Roberta's ready-to-eat meal, he rinsed the chicken patty with his canteen water and ate it.
Six months later, doctors discovered the flap into Roberta's stomach had disintegrated. Six years later, the Marine and former police officer can no longer walk to the mailbox or work.
Another Oregon soldier, Sgt. Nicholas Thomas, died of complications of leukemia at age 21. Three others have reported lung problems to headquarters. Five more told The Oregonian they suffer chronic coughs, rashes and immune system disorders.
The Oregon National Guard soldiers who went to Iraq faced exposure to hexavalent chromium, which greatly increased their risk of contracting cancer and other diseases. It was in the orange and yellow dust spread over half of the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant by fleeing Saddam supporters.
Scientists call the carcinogen a Trojan horse because the damage may not be immediately obvious. Over time, people can develop different cancers, breathing problems, stomach ulcers or damage to the digestive tract.
Ninety-three Oregon soldiers may still not know that they have been exposed to hexavalent chromium. The Oregon Guard sent registered letters notifying them March 6, six years after their deployment.
Officials say they didn't learn of the problem themselves until November 2008, when the Army, spurred by lawsuits in Indiana and Texas and a subsequent Senate investigation, alerted the Oregon Guard. The suits claim KBR ignored both a United Nations report and its own employees' warnings about the danger.
The Oregon Guard has sent 286 letters to soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry Division, about possible exposure. Fewer than 20 have responded to the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Guard.
The 1/162 was broken up in an Army reorganization in 2006. Fewer than half of the soldiers who were deployed are still in the Guard. Forty letters have been returned unopened. The Portland Veterans Administration’s chief environmental-agent doctor has seen only four soldiers.
Larry and Michelle Roberta of Aumsville received the Guard's letter Feb. 26 notifying them of his possible exposure. They set the letter aside. Roberta has known since July 2003 when an Army medic recorded exposure to hexavalent chromium at the water plant.
"We knew he was exposed since the very beginning," says Michelle Roberta, 38. "I sent a very healthy man over there. He did not come back."
The 1/162 arrived at its base of operations in Kuwait on April 18, 2003, and within weeks, the soldiers were assigned to escort and protect KBR contractors on a mission called "Restore Iraqi Oil."
Houston-based Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, then a subsidiary of Halliburton, which was headed by Dick Cheney before he became U.S. vice president in the George W. Bush administration, won the contract to get the oil flowing in Iraq. Repairing the water treatment plant, which maintained pressure in nearby oil wells, was a top priority.
Soldiers, officers and the undersecretary of the Army's manager for the project say that Oregon platoons rotated from Kuwait into Iraq in three- to four-day intervals from April 2003 until June 2003. Oregon soldiers met KBR workers at a rest stop on the main highway into Iraq, then accompanied them in the contractors' SUVs to pipelines, oil fields or the water treatment plant.
Just weeks after the Indiana Guard replaced the Oregonians, a new KBR safety officer arrived at the water treatment plant at Qarmat Ali. Ed Blacke was shocked by the widespread orange and yellow dust piled feet deep in places. The powder, he learned, was a corrosion fighter that contained hexavalent chromium. Soon he had sinus, throat and breathing problems, and found that 60 percent of the soldiers and staff at Qarmat Ali had identical symptoms. KBR managers told him it was "a nonissue."
Blacke described the sequence of events to a Senate committee in June 2008.
According to a subsequent Senate query, KBR did not test the site until August 2003 or notify the Army until September 2003. The Indiana Guard learned of the contamination when KBR managers showed up in protective suits. KBR closed the plant shortly after. (Source: Julie Sullivan, The Oregonian, March 7, 2009)
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