General
News
1 Dead, 15 Injured In N.C. Explosion.
According to E&E News, “A gas explosion that partially collapsed a North Carolina building and set it ablaze this morning killed one person and injured 15 others, police said. Police
cars blocked the streets near the explosion. A thick, acrid smoked hung over a shopping district near downtown Durham, and helicopters circled overhead. Durham Police Department public affairs manager Wil Glenn said a contractor digging under a sidewalk hit
a 2-inch gas line, triggering the explosion. One person was killed and 15 were taken to area hospitals, Glenn said at a news conference. A responding firefighter was seriously injured, he said. Television station video of the scene showed flames jumping from
windows along with heavy smoke and piles of rubble. Students from a nearby school, the Durham School of the Arts, were evacuated and classes dismissed for the day. Duke University employee Mary Williams said she heard the explosion and felt shaking at her
building a third of a mile away. ‘I was in the kitchen. I heard this loud boom, and the building shook. When I looked out, I saw the smoke billowing up. I was scared for whoever was in the vicinity because it did not look very good.’” [E&E News,
4/10/19 (=)]
Company: Mo. Pipeline That Exploded Is Functioning Properly.
According to E&E News, “The owner of a natural gas pipeline that exploded in central Missouri in March says the line is now functioning properly. Energy Transfer, which owns the Panhandle
Eastern natural gas pipeline, said it successfully tested a 15-mile section of the pipeline that exploded in Audrain County north of Mexico. The Mexico Ledger reported that the company tried several tests before the first success on Monday. The explosion extensively
damaged a section of state Route 15, which was closed for several days. No one was injured. Energy Transfer has not yet set a date for the pipeline to reopen.” [E&E News,
4/10/19 (=)]
Exxon Considers Floating Platform With Israel — Sources.
According to E&E News, “Exxon Mobil Corp. is in discussions to build a platform that would expand the export reach of Israel’s biggest natural gas field, according to people familiar
with the matter. Israeli gas stocks rose. The world’s largest publicly-traded oil and gas company is in talks with the firms developing Israel’s Leviathan reservoir to build a floating liquefied natural gas ship, the people said, requesting anonymity because
the matter is private. Such a project would allow the Leviathan partners to export to countries not reachable with pipelines and avoid the need to build expensive infrastructure to connect to LNG facilities in Egypt. It’s possible the discussions ultimately
won’t lead to a partnership, the people cautioned. An Exxon representative said the company was still evaluating its options. ‘It’s too early to comment on specific development and production timelines,’ the representative said. Despite considerable gas discoveries
in the Eastern Mediterranean region over the past decade, viable export routes have proven tough to find and global energy firms haven’t rushed in. The Leviathan partners have signed deals to meet surging demand in Egypt, Jordan and Israel, but haven’t yet
found a way to export to Europe or East Asia.” [E&E News,
4/11/19 (=)]
Trump Moves To Ease Barriers To Natural Gas Pipeline Construction.
According to The Hill, “President Trump on Wednesday signed two executive orders meant to eliminate hurdles to new and existing natural gas pipeline construction across the U.S. ‘In
a few moments I will sign two groundbreaking executive orders to continue the revival of the American energy industry, and will cut through destructive permitting delays and denials,’ Trump said at an event with engineers in Texas on Wednesday, before signing
the two orders. ‘Where it will take you 20 years to get a permit, those days are gone.’ The actions aim to boost energy infrastructure and remove specific barriers blocking existing plans for cross-country natural gas transportation and interstate pipeline
construction. Speaking at the International Union of Operating Engineers International Training and Education Center in Crosby, Texas, Trump called the presidential orders ‘groundbreaking’ measures to ‘continue the revival of the American energy industry.’
‘We made a lot of progress in the last 2 1/2 years, haven’t we? We took down a lot of barriers to production and the pumping,’ Trump told the crowd. The orders specifically take aim at key pipeline holdups, such as on the Constitution Pipeline, a 124-mile
natural gas pipeline project from Pennsylvania to New York.” [The Hill,
4/11/19 (=)]
Environmentalists Question Pennsylvania’s New Methane Rule.
According to the Washington Post, “The administration of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is pushing a regulation to control methane emissions from existing natural gas facilities that doesn’t
directly target the potent greenhouse gas, raising alarm among environmental groups. Instead, the proposed rule sets limits on smog-forming volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, emitted by Pennsylvania’s enormous gas industry, with methane reduction listed
as a ‘co-benefit.’ The rule, which is working its way through the regulatory process, doesn’t establish specific emissions standards for methane, the primary component of natural gas and a key contributor to climate change. Administration officials say they’re
under a federal mandate to do something about VOCs, a component of ground-level ozone that can worsen bronchitis and asthma and contribute to premature death from respiratory disease. They say that controlling VOCs will also help reduce fugitive methane emissions
since both are a result of gas production.” [Washington Post,
4/11/19 (=)]
How To Enhance Greenhouse Gas Monitoring From Space.
According to Forbes, “While government satellites provide a global picture of how global greenhouse gases are circulating, companies that want satellite imagery to reduce their methane
emissions have only one choice so far, a Canadian company argues -- their burgeoning satellite fleet, which will soon add its second member. GHGSat bills itself as the only private entity -- that includes government -- to track greenhouse emissions on a small
scale. The applications include oil and gas facilities, landfill emissions, methane coming from coal mines, or agriculture. Their test satellite, Claire, has been returning data from polar orbit for three years. And a newly named satellite, Iris, will launch
on a Vega rocket from French Guiana this August, as a secondary payload with a larger satellite. The company is still very much in startup phase. After bootstrapping themselves for six years, the company received funding from several government departments
and a suite of institutional investors, representing about $20 million USD in external funding raised so far. CEO Stephane Germain says there have only been revenues raised from one satellite so far, but it’s the future that is exciting investors; GHGSat is
in the middle of another funding round to build and launch an additional 10 satellites after Iris, to be ready in about 2021. Growth is also apparent in its employee base, rising to 30 this year compared to 12 at the same time in 2018.” [Forbes,
4/11/19 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Research Associate
202.448.2877 ext. 119