Natural gas has become one of the most efficient and clean energy resources on the planet, but not without the help of human innovation. The precious natural resource is an excellent energy source for so many different things due to a long history of utilizing natural gas.
For most of the 1800's, the primary use of natural gas was to fuel street lamps, providing light for night transportation. Because there was no real way to transport natural gas over long distances, street lamps were among the few things that could be fueled by gas, but in the late 1920's, piping technology began to advance. Previously, pipelines were poor in quality with bad joint technology, and they were used primarily for transporting water, sewage, or other materials that are not extremely pressure sensitive. In the '20s and '30s, pipeline technology took a turn for the better, and a larger transportation network began. Once a reliable pipeline system was created, the demand for natural gas grew exponentially in residential, industrial, and electric utility markets.
As in all industries, the higher the demand and more money involved, the more regulation needed. In 1938, the federal government passed the Natural Gas Act to regulate the price of natural gas. Lawmakers felt that the natural gas industry would quickly become a monopoly in the absence of regulation. At the same time, the federal government established an incentive program for investing in pipeline construction. This was created to insure the quality of a national network of pipeline. Certain regions were given to individual natural gas companies with exclusive license for pipeline development. This gave companies a vested interest in quickly establishing an efficient transportation system. The Supreme Court later made a ruling to regulate wellhead prices as well in 1954.
Many of these regulations and incentives have changed dramatically due to natural gas shortages in the 1970's. Interestingly enough, the federal government believed that price regulations were stifling companies and putting the industry at risk, and they were right. During the '80s and '90s, natural gas price regulations fall away, introducing more competition into the market. Remarkable, the supply of natural gas increased dramatically, and the prices actually fell. A capitalistic market actually stabilized the industry through dynamic competition. This was also partly responsible for a great deal of technological advances in natural gas location, extraction, and pipeline transportation. This increased efficiency continues to lower the cost of natural gas will the demand continues to support individual drilling and pipeline companies like Western Pipeline Corporation.
In 1990, the Clean Air Act Amendments challenged the fossil fuel industry in general, and greatly increased the demand for natural gas. Natural gas is now utilized by more than a billion customers in the United States. This once simple street lighting fuel has become one of the cleanest most efficient fuel sources on our planet, and it will continue to greatly impact the future history of human civilization.
About the Author: Bob Jent is the CEO of Western Pipeline Corporation. Western Pipeline Corp is a successful, private independent producer of oil and natural gas.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Federal Interest in Pipeline Safety
In 2003, the United States Department of Transportation issued grants to three major entities, engaged in safety oriented pipeline improvement projects. This was an over $500K increase from the previous years investments, totaling at $5.8 million. The Department of Transportation is dedicated to the safety and efficiency of our nations pipeline transport system, and saw an investment in pipeline safety research for both public and private sectors very important. This effort was intended to strengthen our citizens' confidence in the safety and security of the pipeline industry. In fact, the previous year, the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act was issued for the similar purpose of insuring safe pipeline operations in the future through the cultivation of new innovative technologies.
This Act and the 2003 grants followed a previous set of awards the Dept. of Transportation, DOT, issued to enhance pipeline controls, operations, and monitoring solutions. These previous grants included a $627,000 pipeline related funding project and three other broad agency announcements for pipeline research and development, resulting in approximately $2.8 million awarded to 13 different research endeavors. The private pipeline industry then matched those awards by providing $3 million for future research and development.
The RSPA branch of the DOT issued awards for its third BAA in September of 2003 for projects focus on improving pipeline materials and prolonging the lifetime of previously installed pipeline systems. This covered a large variety of components and materials that might be enhanced. The awards in 2003 included the Battelle Corporation of Columbus, OH, to estimate the value of current pipeline construction, the CC Technologies of Cublin, OH, to create guidelines for pipeline operators, and the FINO AG of Hildesheim, Germany, to improve the current pipeline inspection system for "pigless," small diameter pipelines. These are extremely brief and summarized descriptions of these awarded research and development projects, but they lend a general idea of federal interests in the safety and efficiency of our national pipeline network.
The Federal Department of Transportation RSPA is responsible for the safety of our pipeline system, controlling the transport of hazardous fuels to consumers and industrial locations around the country. It is in the interest of private companies such as Western Pipeline Corporation, and in the interest of the public to have rapid response for pipeline emergencies, advanced training for pipeline professionals, and the best in applied technologies and sciences to increase the efficiency and safety of the pipeline transportation system.
About the Author: Bob Jent is the CEO of Western Pipeline Corporation. Western Pipeline Corp is a successful, private independent producer of oil and natural gas.
This Act and the 2003 grants followed a previous set of awards the Dept. of Transportation, DOT, issued to enhance pipeline controls, operations, and monitoring solutions. These previous grants included a $627,000 pipeline related funding project and three other broad agency announcements for pipeline research and development, resulting in approximately $2.8 million awarded to 13 different research endeavors. The private pipeline industry then matched those awards by providing $3 million for future research and development.
The RSPA branch of the DOT issued awards for its third BAA in September of 2003 for projects focus on improving pipeline materials and prolonging the lifetime of previously installed pipeline systems. This covered a large variety of components and materials that might be enhanced. The awards in 2003 included the Battelle Corporation of Columbus, OH, to estimate the value of current pipeline construction, the CC Technologies of Cublin, OH, to create guidelines for pipeline operators, and the FINO AG of Hildesheim, Germany, to improve the current pipeline inspection system for "pigless," small diameter pipelines. These are extremely brief and summarized descriptions of these awarded research and development projects, but they lend a general idea of federal interests in the safety and efficiency of our national pipeline network.
The Federal Department of Transportation RSPA is responsible for the safety of our pipeline system, controlling the transport of hazardous fuels to consumers and industrial locations around the country. It is in the interest of private companies such as Western Pipeline Corporation, and in the interest of the public to have rapid response for pipeline emergencies, advanced training for pipeline professionals, and the best in applied technologies and sciences to increase the efficiency and safety of the pipeline transportation system.
About the Author: Bob Jent is the CEO of Western Pipeline Corporation. Western Pipeline Corp is a successful, private independent producer of oil and natural gas.
Coal VS Natural Gas
Both Natural Gas and Coal are used largely to produce electricity, an energy that is used in such a wide variety of ways by our civilization. As we progress in our industrial development, humans are beginning to notice our effects on our surround environment more and more. For this reason, finding the most efficient fuel sources with the lowest carbon dioxide emission is becoming for of a goal. Coal combustion is an older model for producing electricity and has provided power to our homes abundantly for decades, but natural gas is far more efficient.
The megawatt hour expresses the consistent emissions of carbon versus the amount of electricity that is generated, and newer combined cycle generators have a much better megawatt hour using natural gas than that of coal plants. Every fossil fuel from coal, to oil, to natural gas contains carbon. There is no known method to combust these hydrocarbons without emitting carbon dioxide. It is not just that natural gas puts off less carbon. Really, it simply produces more electricity. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted from a single megawatt hour, or MMBtu, is 40% less than a coal MMBtu. Every fossil fuel from coal, to oil, to natural gas contains carbon. There is no known method to combust these hydrocarbons without emitting carbon dioxide.
Also, natural gas has almost no emissions of mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide due to an absence of precursors in natural gas as well as strict gas plant controls. Gas fired power generation produces less than .1 tons of mercury per year while coal burning plants account for 50 tones of mercury. Though this is still a low number, mercury is an extremely harmful substance that can damage brain cells and cause other health problems, even in small doses. Sulfur dioxide is usually created during the combustion process due to the existence of sulfur in coal and other fuels. The presence of sulfur in coal and liquid fuels is close to 4 percent while the presence of sulfur in natural gas is less than one 1/110th of a percent. For this reason, SO2 emissions from natural gas are very negligible. Nitrogen Oxides have less to do with the nitrogen levels in different fuels, and more to do with the actual process of combustion. Natural gas has lower nitrogen oxide emissions because it is combustible with more efficient techniques that are more amenable to low nitrogen oxides.
Natural gas is a more versatile fossil fuel that produces more energy. New technologies continue to improve the emissions of natural gas while coal seems to constantly struggle to meat current standards. Western Pipeline Corporation is one of many companies increasing the transport of natural gas to increase energy and lower emissions. The coming demands of our civilization will depend on the production of fuels like natural gas.
About the Author: Bob Jent is the CEO of Western Pipeline Corporation. Western Pipeline Corp is a successful, private independent producer of oil and natural gas.
The megawatt hour expresses the consistent emissions of carbon versus the amount of electricity that is generated, and newer combined cycle generators have a much better megawatt hour using natural gas than that of coal plants. Every fossil fuel from coal, to oil, to natural gas contains carbon. There is no known method to combust these hydrocarbons without emitting carbon dioxide. It is not just that natural gas puts off less carbon. Really, it simply produces more electricity. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted from a single megawatt hour, or MMBtu, is 40% less than a coal MMBtu. Every fossil fuel from coal, to oil, to natural gas contains carbon. There is no known method to combust these hydrocarbons without emitting carbon dioxide.
Also, natural gas has almost no emissions of mercury, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide due to an absence of precursors in natural gas as well as strict gas plant controls. Gas fired power generation produces less than .1 tons of mercury per year while coal burning plants account for 50 tones of mercury. Though this is still a low number, mercury is an extremely harmful substance that can damage brain cells and cause other health problems, even in small doses. Sulfur dioxide is usually created during the combustion process due to the existence of sulfur in coal and other fuels. The presence of sulfur in coal and liquid fuels is close to 4 percent while the presence of sulfur in natural gas is less than one 1/110th of a percent. For this reason, SO2 emissions from natural gas are very negligible. Nitrogen Oxides have less to do with the nitrogen levels in different fuels, and more to do with the actual process of combustion. Natural gas has lower nitrogen oxide emissions because it is combustible with more efficient techniques that are more amenable to low nitrogen oxides.
Natural gas is a more versatile fossil fuel that produces more energy. New technologies continue to improve the emissions of natural gas while coal seems to constantly struggle to meat current standards. Western Pipeline Corporation is one of many companies increasing the transport of natural gas to increase energy and lower emissions. The coming demands of our civilization will depend on the production of fuels like natural gas.
About the Author: Bob Jent is the CEO of Western Pipeline Corporation. Western Pipeline Corp is a successful, private independent producer of oil and natural gas.
Pipeline Welding
Pipeline welding is a process that must be executed with precision. Lives and investments must be protected from any kind of leakage or accident that any activity involving oil or natural gas is prone to produce. Because these fuels are highly flammable and toxic to our health, the joints must be welded within strict governmental specifications. Thankfully, pipeline companies, western pipeline corporation included, are dedicated to the safety and efficiency of their pipelines to ensure safety.
Once a pipeline trench has been dug along the right of way, the pipe sections are temporarily supported along the side of it and aligned together. Pipes are then lifted by specialized pipeline rigs, known as side booms. These machines lift, support, and align each pipe to the next piece through the first pass of each welding. The welding itself is controlled by extremely strict specifications. Semiautomatic and automatic procedures are required, and on larger projects, no manual welding is used at all. The pipeline sections must obviously be welded into one continuous length with now room for leakage, so as part of quality assurance, each welder is required to pass qualification tests to work in particular jobs, and every weld job must be approved under federal welding standards.
The qualification process for a welder occurs before a project starts. Every welder under consideration for a new project must weld the same type of pipe that will be used in the project, completing several flawless welds. Each of these welds is evaluated under a test of force. The weld is put under extreme pressure to measure what is required to pull the weld apart. The requirements are so intense, that the weld must actually be stronger than the actual pipeline.
On the pipeline construction site, quality assurance continues upmost scrutiny. A dark room with qualified X-Ray technicians examines pictures that were taken of the various welds to guarantee federal quality standards. X-Ray technicians process the film inside the portable dark room and if any flaws are perceived, the weld must be repaired or destroyed. New innovations with ultrasound technology are bringing new possibilities to weld examination.
The art of welding is at its finest in the oil and natural gas pipeline industry. Government regulations along with intense private interests protect pipelines from malfunction or defect and keep our communities and environment safe. Becoming a pipeline welder is a prestigious level of the metal working industry, requiring precision and perfection.
About the Author: Bob Jent is the CEO of Western Pipeline Corporation. Western Pipeline Corp is a successful, private independent producer of oil and natural gas.
Once a pipeline trench has been dug along the right of way, the pipe sections are temporarily supported along the side of it and aligned together. Pipes are then lifted by specialized pipeline rigs, known as side booms. These machines lift, support, and align each pipe to the next piece through the first pass of each welding. The welding itself is controlled by extremely strict specifications. Semiautomatic and automatic procedures are required, and on larger projects, no manual welding is used at all. The pipeline sections must obviously be welded into one continuous length with now room for leakage, so as part of quality assurance, each welder is required to pass qualification tests to work in particular jobs, and every weld job must be approved under federal welding standards.
The qualification process for a welder occurs before a project starts. Every welder under consideration for a new project must weld the same type of pipe that will be used in the project, completing several flawless welds. Each of these welds is evaluated under a test of force. The weld is put under extreme pressure to measure what is required to pull the weld apart. The requirements are so intense, that the weld must actually be stronger than the actual pipeline.
On the pipeline construction site, quality assurance continues upmost scrutiny. A dark room with qualified X-Ray technicians examines pictures that were taken of the various welds to guarantee federal quality standards. X-Ray technicians process the film inside the portable dark room and if any flaws are perceived, the weld must be repaired or destroyed. New innovations with ultrasound technology are bringing new possibilities to weld examination.
The art of welding is at its finest in the oil and natural gas pipeline industry. Government regulations along with intense private interests protect pipelines from malfunction or defect and keep our communities and environment safe. Becoming a pipeline welder is a prestigious level of the metal working industry, requiring precision and perfection.
About the Author: Bob Jent is the CEO of Western Pipeline Corporation. Western Pipeline Corp is a successful, private independent producer of oil and natural gas.
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