W
o
rld News
6
World Pipelines
/
SEPTEMBER 2014
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Mexico
The Chief Executive of Enbridge Inc. has
said that there could be opportunities to
build new pipelines in Mexico as the
country opens its energy industry up to
outside investment. “They’re obviously in
significant need of pipeline infrastructure,”
said Al Monaco, adding that goes for both
oil and natural gas.
Mexico is in the process of ending the
government’s 75 year long monopoly over
energy through a series of reforms. It hopes
private investment and foreign expertise
can help revive its oil and gas production,
which has been waning. While a lot more
investment is expected, Enbridge has no
immediate plans to enter Mexico. “We’re
going to watch to see how these
regulations work through and we’ll keep
our finger on the pulse and see where we
go there.”
China
The China-Myanmar gas pipeline, owned
by China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC),
imported 1.87 billion m
3
of gas in its first
year of operation.
The pipeline is part of an ambitious
US$ 2.5 billion oil and gas project between
the two countries. It stretches over 2400 km
from the Shwe fields in the Indian Ocean,
through Myanmar to the city of Kunming,
China. The pipeline should be able to
transport around 12 billion m
3
/yr of gas
once it reaches full capacity. According to
CNPC, a parallel oil pipeline, which is due to
come online later this year, will carry up to
440 000 bpd of oil.
Scotland
Geoforce, Inc., an international provider of
Track and Trace and asset management
solutions for oil and gas operating
companies, has established its first European
presence in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
“To continue our strategy of having a
local presence in the critical oil and gas
markets around the world, establishing a
Geoforce footprint in the North Sea
became our top priority,” said James
MacLean, III, President and Chief Executive
Office of Geoforce.
“The North Sea region and Europe in
general are a hotbed of activity,” said Chris
Gorman, Geoforce’s Business Manager for
the UK.
Keystone XL could be more polluting than previously predicted
A new study from scientists at the
Stockholm Environmental Institute claims
that the Keystone XL, which would carry
oil from oilsands in western Canada to
refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, would
produce four times more global warning
than existing studies have calculated.
The study points to gaps in existing
environmental and economic assessments
and says a US State Department’s analysis
of Keystone XL did not account for the
pipeline’s potential effects on global oil
markets. The study argues that added oil
from the pipeline would cause a drop in
prices, spurring consumption and creating
more pollution.
In contrast to the State Department,
which predicted that the Keystone XL
would increase global greenhouse gas
emission by up to 30 million tpy, the
Stockholm Environmental Institute
calculates a rise of up to 121 million tpy.
Independent energy economists have
dismissed the study, faulting the idea that
added oil production will lower the price
and boost demand.
SOCAR holds meeting with
Iranian delegation
SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev
held a meeting with the Iranian
delegation, headed by the Minister of
Communication and Information
Technology, Mahmoud Vaezi.
The sides underlined large prospects
for deepening energy co-operation and
discussed other points of interest.
Welcoming the guests, Mr Abdullayev
emphasised the successful development
of the Azerbaijani-Iranian relations and
said the visit of the President of the
Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to
Iran last April gave a new impetus to the
expansion of the relations between the
countries.
Mr Abdullayev said Iranian companies
were successfully working in the oil and
gas sector of Azerbaijan and added that
the two countries have a rich experience in
this sphere, creating large potential for the
economic co-operation between them.
Mahmoud Vaezi said they were
deeply impressed by the rapid social-
economic development in Azerbaijan and
the Iranian delegation will attend the
meeting and business forum held by the
State Commission for economy, trade
and humanitarian issues.
Vaezi expressed gratitude for a good
co-operation opportunity created for
Iran’s NICO in Shah Deniz and South
Caucasus Pipeline projects and said he
believed that co-operation in the oil and
gas sphere would contribute to the
economic development of both
countries.
BKEP announces pipeline
Blueknight Energy Partners, LP, will
construct a 160 mile, 16 in. dia. pipeline
originating in Madison County and running
south through Leon, Walker and Houston
counties.
The pipeline will have an initial
capacity of 100 000 bpd and will serve
Eaglebine/Woodbine crude oil producers
via two origination stations located near
North Zulch and Madisonville, with a third
station near Roans Prairie planned to
accommodate future production growth in
the area. The pipeline will have the
capability to segregate and batch crude oil
in order to help producers capture value
for this premium product.
Construction on the pipeline will start
immediately and is expected to be
completed by March 2016. The pipeline is
expected to cost around US$ 300 million.
“This is a transformative project for our
company in terms of scale and scope,” said
Mark Hurley, BKEP’s Chief Executive Officer.
“The Eaglebine/Woodbine region is
emerging as one of the most prolific crude
oil plays in the country and the area needs
new infrastructure to realise its full
potential. Our project, which will be
known as the Knight Warrior Pipeline,
represents a significant investment in a
new system to ensure crude oil producers
have access to key refining markets.
Moreover, our ability to increase the
capacity of this pipeline in the future is an
important feature of the project as we see
strong interest from producers to expand
their presence and activity in the
Eaglebine/Woodbine play.”
