Politics & Regulation

Pipeline crosses miles of beautiful, rugged terrain (copyright by Adobe Stock/JT Fisherman)
Pipeline crosses miles of beautiful, rugged terrain (copyright by Adobe Stock/JT Fisherman)

Expanded Keystone XL Oil Volumes A Boon to TransCanada

President Trump, frustrated with a Supreme Court ruling this month that blocked a key environmental permit, preventing substantial U.S. construction on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, has approved the existing pipeline in place to ship 29% more Canadian crude into the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast.

hydrogen energy storage, wind turbines and photovoltaics (copyright by Adobe Stock/malp)
hydrogen energy storage, wind turbines and photovoltaics (copyright by Adobe Stock/malp)

Hydrogen Being Touted as Fossil Fuel Replacement

Long common knowledge but shunned because of high production, transportation and storage costs, hydrogen (now usually adjoined with the adjective "green") is being viewed with increasing favor on both sides of the Atlantic.

Landscape in South Caucasus (copyright by Adobe Stock/dmitriygut)
Landscape in South Caucasus (copyright by Adobe Stock/dmitriygut)

Unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh Matter Threatens to Disrupt Caucasus Pipelines

The long simmering Azerbaijan-Armenian conflict, centering around the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and subject to frequent eruptions over the course of its post Soviet history, has blown once again.  At least four Azeri soldiers were killed and scores wounded, in addition to a number of wounded Armenian soldiers.

Supreme Court Washington DC USA (copyright by Adobe Stock/steheap)
Supreme Court Washington DC USA (copyright by Adobe Stock/steheap)

The End of Keystone XL? Pipeline Projects in the US Take Another Hit

In the wake of judicial decisions effectively shutting down the Atlantic and Dakota Access interstate pipeline projects, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that construction on the infamous Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline cannot begin, thus rejecting a bid by President Donald Trump’s administration to jump-start the long-delayed project.

court gavel on court desk (coypright by Adobe Stock/BillionPhotos.com)
court gavel on court desk (coypright by Adobe Stock/BillionPhotos.com)

Energy Transfer Ordered To Shut Down Dakota Access Oil Pipeline

Energy Transfer's $3.8bn, 1,172-mile underground pipeline carrying oil from North Dakota across South Dakota and Iowa and to a shipping point in Illinois and up and running for three years already has been ordered to cease operations by a district court judge until a more thorough environmental assessment review has been made.

Laying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline (copyright by Adobe Stock/fotograupner)
Laying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline (copyright by Adobe Stock/fotograupner)

Nord Stream: The EU Stiffens its Spine In Standing Up To Washington

In the face of expanded US sanctions against companies and countries participating in the development of Nord Stream 2, the EU is preparing its own measures to protect the European Union as the United States tightens its sanctions law.

court ruling (copyright by Adobe Stock/BillionPhotos.com)
court ruling (copyright by Adobe Stock/BillionPhotos.com)

Circuit Court Orders Enbridge to Stop Operations of Line 5 Pipeline Segments

A portion of Enbridge's Line 5 oil and gas liquids pipeline, a 6.4-km segment dividing into two pipes lying on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan between Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas, has been temporarily shut down pending a hearing on its safety scheduled for next Tuesday.

Laying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline (copyright by Adobe Stock/fotograupner)
Laying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline (copyright by Adobe Stock/fotograupner)

Is Nord Stream 2 A Pipeline to Nowhere?

The recent bill put forward in the US Senate by Senators Ted Cruz and Jeanne Shaheen may have been the proverbial straw that has broken the camel's back.  For in its wake Germany has stiffened its spine and publicly voicing its displeasure with the current US-German relationship under President Donald Trump.

The Trans-Andean oil pipeline passing through montane rainforest in the Ecuadorian Amazon (copyright by Adobe Stock/Atelopus)
The Trans-Andean oil pipeline passing through montane rainforest in the Ecuadorian Amazon (copyright by Adobe Stock/Atelopus)

Another Bad Day For Ecuador's Accident-prone Crude Oil Pipeline System

Ecuador’s northern Amazon rainforest has seen heavy oil contamination since rich oil fields were discovered there in the 1960s. Billions of gallons of oil waste was dumped by then American oil giant Texaco into unlined, open-air pits in the ground.

American flag waving with the Capitol Hill (copyright by Adobe Stock/rarrarorro)
American flag waving with the Capitol Hill (copyright by Adobe Stock/rarrarorro)

New Proposed Senate Sanctions Could be the Death Knell for Nordstream 2

As if there were not enough existing obstacles thrown in Nordstream 2's way (see Pipeline Technology Journal, 27 May 2020), Senators Ted Cruz and Jeanne Shaheen announced a bill today on Capitol Hill to expand sanctions on the troubled gas pipeline to prevent its completion and thus end what they see as Moscow's plan to raise its economic and political influence in

Developing gas resources and shaping gas transmission system in eastern Russia (copyright by Gazprom)
Developing gas resources and shaping gas transmission system in eastern Russia (copyright by Gazprom)

Troubled Waters Roil Russia's Energy Relationship with China

The over 2000-km gas pipeline Power of Siberia, linking Russia's prodigious gas reserves to gigantic energy markets of China, is supposed to be in full swing right now, underscoring the new energy alliance between the Russian bear and the Chinese dragon. At best the flowing gas is so reduced it's barely making a whisper as it moves through the pipeline.

Israel and Egypt flag (copyright by Shutterstock/ruskpp)
Israel and Egypt flag (copyright by Shutterstock/ruskpp)

Israel Begins Shipping Gas to Egypt via a Subsea Pipeline

Against the backdrop of the Corona pandemic what has been touted as " the most significant deal to emerge since the countries signed a historic peace treaty in 1979," Israel and Egypt began implementing an estimated $19.5 billion natural gas deal.

United States Army Corps of Engineers through a magnifying glass (copyright by Shutterstock/Gil C)
United States Army Corps of Engineers through a magnifying glass (copyright by Shutterstock/Gil C)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Acts To Suspend Pipeline Infrastructure Projects

A nationwide program considered by the pipeline industry as vital to its profitability has been suspended by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a separate and permanent branch of the U.S. Government.