Alyeska to test hydraulic clamp designed to repair bullet hole leak

ANCHORAGE - Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. is planning a field exercise this year to test a hydraulically powered clamp designed to stop oil from spewing out of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline through a bullet hole.
The bullet-hole exercise is planned for a site at the Chatanika River.
A test piece of 48-inch mainline pipe will be placed at the scene and
pressurized with water to simulate a high-pressure oil spray through a bullet hole, an exercise description says. Equipment including Alyeska's HC 320 hydraulic clamp will be dispatched from the company's Fairbanks Response Base.
A simulated 60-barrel release is expected over the course of the planned 12-hour exercise, and Alyeska and regulators will time and evaluate all the activities, the exercise description says.
The drill is scheduled for the third quarter of this year, though Alyeska spokesman Matt Carle said it could come sooner to avoid conflicts with planned summer maintenance shutdowns along the pipeline.

Williams Cos. plans $55 million expansion of Transco Pipeline

TULSA, Okla. - Williams Cos. Inc. will expand its Transco pipeline by approximately 142,000 dekatherms to serve additional markets in the mid-Atlantic region, the Tulsa natural gas company announced on Jan. 22.
The Mid-Atlantic Connection expansion will deliver fuel from an interconnection with East Tennessee Natural Gas in Rockingham County, N.C., to delivery points as far north as Maryland, according to the Williams news release. The deal needs Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval.
The parent Williams Cos. soon will shift its 10,500-mile Transco and parts of other pipeline and midstream properties to subsidiary Williams Partners LP as part of a $12 billion restructuring. The deal eventually would absorb Williams Pipeline Partners LP into the subsidiary.

Magellan agrees to pay $418,000 penalty over Oklahoma spill

TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa-based Magellan Pipeline Co. LP, a Williams Cos. spinoff, has agreed to pay a $418,000 civil penalty to resolve a lawsuit over a gasoline spill near Oologah, Okla.
Magellan agreed to the amount in a proposed consent decree filed in Tulsa federal court on Jan. 19, the same day attorneys for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Justice filed the lawsuit.
The agencies alleged that a pipeline associated with Magellan ruptured on Jan. 5, 2008, and caused the discharge of at least 1,075 barrels of gasoline into Four Mile Creek near Oologah. The complaint alleged that the discharge violated the Clean Water Act.
Under the terms of the pact, Magellan doesn't admit liability to the United States.

Suncor says Alberta Clipper no longer prudent, wants lower tariff

CALGARY, Alta. - A tariff dispute between Enbridge Inc. and bitumen producer Suncor Energy over Enbridge's Alberta Clipper line has raised doubts about the necessity of the line.
During an investor symposium on Jan. 21, Enbridge disclosed that Suncor had applied with U.S. energy regulators to defer tariffs on the U.S. portion of the 1,600-kilometer line due to reduced need.
Suncor, which recently merged with Petro-Canada, said the new pipeline likely will run under capacity.
"We support additional capacity, but the timing of Clipper is no longer a prudent fit with supply," Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said. "We are concerned about the potential impact of unnecessary pipeline-related costs in view of unused capacity on the competitiveness of Canadian heavy oilsands crude into the U.S. "
Enbridge chief financial officer Richard Bird said the Clipper will start operation several months ahead of schedule, on April 1, further pressuring tariff revenues at home.
"Suncor is a significant customer, so we understand their concern with the fact that our tolls on our main-line system are going to increase as a result of circumstances that have changed since the Alberta Clipper project was approved," Bird told investors at a symposium in Whistler, B.C. "We will work with them and with (the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers) to do everything that we can to make it right."

Montana governor wants access to TransCanada oil pipeline

HELENA - Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said on Jan. 20 that he wants oil companies in his state and neighboring North Dakota to be able to tap into a proposed TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline that will run from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Schweitzer has asked the state Public Service Commission to investigate whether the state has authority to force Calgary-based TransCanada to allow an "onramp" for the region's oil near Baker.
That could help oil companies in the two states get better prices for their fuel, which is now often sold at a discount because of shipping constraints, Schweitzer said.
Final approval is pending for TransCanada's 1,980-mile Keystone XL Pipeline. The company hopes to start construction sometime this year.
"This is a pre-emptive move to make sure Montana oil producers get market price for their oil," Schweitzer said. "In eastern Montana and western North Dakota, we're getting discounts of $8 to $12" per barrel below market prices.
Schweitzer said a Montana "onramp" for the pipeline also could encourage new drilling. Exploration lagged in recent months due to the ailing economy and a temporary drop in oil prices.

Enbridge announces LaCrosse pipeline to serve Haynesville Shale

SHREVEPORT, La. - Another large pipeline project to move natural gas from the Haynesville Shale and East Texas wells is being proposed by Enbridge Energy, according to the Shreveport Times.
The 340-mile interstate natural gas pipeline would originate at the Enbridge Carthage Hub in Panola County, Texas, enter DeSoto Parish north of Logansport and slice southeast before entering Natchitoches Parish. It will ultimately connect with Southern Natural Gas Pipeline in Washington Parish.
Enbridge held pen houses on Jan. 19 in Logansport and Jan. 20 in Natchitoches to provide information about the proposed 340-mile interstate pipeline.
The LaCrosse Pipeline will join a number of other major pipeline projects that have been announced since Haynesville Shale drilling exploded in northwest Louisiana and East Texas in the spring of 2008.

Native group calls for boycott of Enbridge Northern Gateway line

CALGARY, Alta. - A small first nation group in Canada’s British Columbia has made a personal appeal to Alberta energy companies, China and other governments to oppose the proposed Northern Gateway crude pipeline. Northern Gateway is a proposed Enbridge Inc. pipeline that would export oilsands crude to Asia.
The 1,170-kilometer project would bring crude from Alberta to the northern B.C. coast, where it would be loaded onto very large crude carriers (VLCCs) for transport to Asian refiners.
The project offers oilsands producers an appealing alternative market to the United States, where climate change legislation has brought some uncertainty.
On some of the pristine, salmon-rich lands Gateway would cross - safely, Enbridge says - first nations are voicing growing concerns that the line will damage the environment and leave little in return.
One of those nations, the Wet'suwet'en, took to Calgary on Jan. 15 in hopes of persuading energy companies to boycott the project. About 140 km. of Gateway would be built on Wet'suwet'en traditional territory, and the group believes the environmental approval process for the pipeline will infringe on their constitutional rights, since it does not include a mandate to look into aboriginal rights and title.