(London, England). Winn & Coales International Ltd, leading manufacturer of corrosion prevention and sealing products announced recently, the acquisition of the global Viscotaq™ business, including Amcorr Products and Services Inc, manufacturer of viscoelastic protective coatings.

Amcorr Products & Services Inc, based in San Antonio, USA are the formulators and manufacturers of viscoelastic protective coating technology, Viscotaq™. The patented Viscotaq™ product range is used for corrosion prevention and sealing applications on vital infrastructure across a broad range of sectors. The unique, self-healing technology of Viscotaq™ offers asset owners outstanding, long-term protection against corrosion.

Amcorr was originally established in June 2000 in San Antonio, USA and thereafter rapidly became the North American market leader of viscoelastic coatings and sealants in the corrosion industry.

Edwin Welles, President of Amcorr and co-inventor of the Viscotaq™ technology commented,

“We feel honored being part of the Winn & Coales family now. A similar business culture, with a privately-owned structure and a technology driven mentality was a natural fit for us. The acquisition will give Amcorr the opportunity to grow rapidly, both nationally and internationally and above all, guarantee dedicated service and supply to existing and future clients across the globe. I personally feel privileged to make the next step in my career at Winn & Coales, a leader in our industry with an outstanding reputation.”

For more than 90 years, the Winn & Coales International Group of companies has been creating bespoke and off-the-shelf solutions that provide enduring protection against corrosion and chemical attack to buried and exposed pipes, valves, fittings, steelwork, marine structures, tanks and concrete bunded areas. The acquisition of Amcorr is aligned with the Company’s focus on investing in and providing the highest quality corrosion prevention solutions for their customers.

Chairman of Winn & Coales International, Mr. Chris Winn commented, “The acquisition of Amcorr is particularly exciting for the Company, as the Viscotaq™ product line enhances and complements our existing range of coatings, which are already well established in the market. We are now able to offer all corrosion prevention technologies to our customers, and we look forward to building on our leading brands further with our new colleagues at Amcorr.”

(Meridian, MS) The management of Castle is proud to announce the promotion of Harry W. New to Vice President of two divisions of Castle: Castle Pipeline and Castle Facility Group.

Harry has exemplified excellence during his tenure at Castle and has been a proven leader in the Oil & Gas industry. With over 34 years of leadership and management responsibilities in our industry, he is versed in all aspects of business operations by having the knowledge of both publicly traded and privately held companies which has allowed him to perform at a high level to ensure success.

Castle is a multi-state employer who meets the needs of our clients in over 36 states in the U.S. Castle has four divisions: Castle Pipeline, Castle Integrity Group, Castle Facility Group, and Castle Directional Drilling. Learn more about Castle and what they bring to the industry at www.wearecastle.com

(Meridian, MS) – Mike Castle Jr., President and CEO of industry-leading pipeline

construction and maintenance company Progressive Pipeline, announced the business has been formally

rebranded as ‘Castle.’ The public announcement was made during a groundbreaking ceremony of Castle’s

new downtown headquarters located in Meridian, MS, last month.

“This is an exciting, new day in the rich history of this company, and it ushers in a bright future for our

employee family,” said Castle. “But while our brand has changed, our commitment to being a team

grounded in our values of hard work, integrity, safety, and family have not. We are a company powered

by our people and we will continue to deliver to our client’s the satisfaction they’ve come to expect when

partnering with us for project needs. We decided to make this change to our brand to better serve our

clients. We do so much more than pipeline work when it comes to the Oil and Gas industry and we want to

be transparent about the services we offer as we continue to deliver on our promise of being the hardest

working team you can find.”

Castle was founded in 1999 by Mike Castle, Sr., under the name Progressive Pipeline. Since its inception,

they have completed over 700 projects valuing over $3 billion in every U.S. geographical area.

“Our decision to rebrand as ‘Castle’ was made to better reflect who we are: a family of hardworking

individuals that learn, adapt, and push forward through each and every challenge,” added Castle. “We

are ultimately more of a family than a company, committed to my father’s original principles of telling the

truth, working hard, believing in yourself, and practicing what you preach. And of course, always

outworking the competition.”

Castle’s new, downtown Meridian headquarters was announced in late 2019 and represents a $10 million

investment in the former Melton Hardware Building in historical downtown Meridian, Mississippi.

“While we outgrew our former headquarters and needed a more spacious home, we also wanted to

ensure we and our entire employee base became more integrated into our local community. We’re excited

to be able to contribute to the revitalization of historic downtown. We want to continue to invest into the

lives of the people who are so vital to our success and future,” said Castle. “

Our experience, our people, and our culture set us apart from others in the industry, and we feel we can bring great value to our

community and to those we serve in this new location.”

Denso North America (Houston, TX) is excited to announce the launch of their latest innovation - Denso Bore-Wrap®. Denso Bore-Wrap is an Abrasion Resistant Outerwrap (ARO) which has outstanding performance against impact, gouge, abrasion, and fracture. Bore-Wrap creates a superior sacrificial outer laminate layer, which protects both pre-approved field joint coatings and mainline coatings (such as, liquid epoxy coatings, 3LPE, 3LPP and FBE coatings) from damage during pipeline installations, in difficult terrain or by means of trenchless installation methods, such as directional drilling, HDD or boring.

Denso Bore-Wrap is easily applied in the field; there is no mixing required, it is simply wrapped over the existing pipeline coating and cured with water. Due to its flexibility and exceptional level of mechanical protection, Bore-Wrap minimizes the need for costly spot repairs or re-pulling pipe from damage.

To learn more, visit Denso North America at www.densona.com or call them at (281) 821-3355.

(Alden, IA) An Iowa company is leading a $2 billion effort to capture carbon dioxide from Midwestern ethanol plants and pipe it to North Dakota where it would be buried deep underground.

The greenhouse gas is generated during the fermentation process and contributes to climate change when it’s released into the atmosphere.

Summit Carbon Solutions’ project would gather carbon dioxide from at least 17 ethanol plants and pipe it to North Dakota where it would be injected into wells and stored underground.

The carbon dioxide would be compressed into liquid form at the ethanol plants where feeder pipelines would send it to a larger pipeline that would extend across the Upper Midwest to North Dakota, the  Bismarck Tribune reported.

The project adds to a growing list of carbon capture and storage projects in North Dakota where extensive research has been done on the makeup of rocks as deep as 10,000 feet underground to find the ideal layer where carbon dioxide could stay buried forever.

That’s part of what attracted the company to the state, said Bruce Rastetter, CEO of Summit Agricultural Group, the parent of Summit Carbon Solutions.

“You have the geology formations,” he said.

Another factor that makes North Dakota an attractive option is the state’s authority to regulate the wells in which carbon dioxide would be injected. In 2018, it became the first state to assume that authority from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

According to Summit, the project has the potential to capture and store up to 10 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, which it said would be equivalent to taking 2 million cars off the road.

Summit said construction of the project could take at least 16 months and that it would create 10,000 temporary jobs. It expects the project to be operational by 2024.

Summit is also exploring other options, including injecting the gas into depleted oil fields to boost oil production, Rastetter said.

A federal tax credit is helping bolster that process, known as enhanced oil recovery, as well as underground storage. Rastetter said Summit’s project wouldn’t be possible without it.

Ethanol plants in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa plan to participate.

(Williamsville, NY) National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. has been given the green light to start construction on a multi-million dollar project to build a new pipeline to increase its transportation capacity in the region.

A release issued recently stated that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the beginning of construction on the FM100 Project, which includes work in Cameron, Elk, McKean, Potter, Clearfield and Clinton counties.

“National Fuel is targeting the end of calendar year 2021 for the project to be placed into service,” the release stated.

The company hired William Owens Sr., a 50-year veteran of the natural gas industry, as ombudsman for the project to “further enhance landowner and stakeholder relations. He will serve as a front-line resolution specialist for landowners and stakeholders. As an objective party, Owens will answer questions, investigate issues and coordinate with appropriate personnel and stakeholders.”

The project, according to National Fuel, locally entails the following: Installation of 29.5 miles of new 20-inch coated steel pipeline in Sergeant, Norwich and Liberty townships in McKean County and in Roulette, Pleasant Valley, Clara and Hebron townships in Potter County; installation of the new Marvindale compressor station in Sergeant Township and an adjacent interconnect; installation of up to 1.41 miles of 24-inch pipeline looping the existing pipeline in Allegany and Hebron townships in Potter County; installation of 0.4 miles of 12-inch diameter pipeline, extending the existing pipeline in Sergeant Township; installation of a new overpressure protection station in Hebron Township (Carpenter Hallow OPP Station).

Another part of the project includes abandonment in place of approximately 44.9 miles of 12-inch steel natural gas pipeline in Huston and Lawrence townships in Clearfield County, Benezette Township in Elk County, the Borough of Driftwood, and Gibson and Lumber townships in Cameron County and Wharton and Portage townships in Potter County; abandonment and removal of the Costello Compression station in Portage Township, Potter County, and abandonment and removal of an existing meter station in Wharton Township, Potter County.

The financial impact of the project in the region is in the hundreds of millions, according to National Fuel.

Spokesperson Carly Manino provided the following information. “The project’s economic impact includes investing more than $250 million in Pennsylvania; creating approximately 500 jobs during construction, estimated over $63 million in regional construction payroll and services spending; estimated over $3 million in regional material purchases and fuel spending.”

The total economic impact is estimated at more than $500 million, Manino indicated.

National Fuel will support local businesses throughout the construction, and will continue ongoing work with area companies.

David P. Bauer, president and CEO of National Fuel, had this to say about the project: “...in line with our ongoing focus on greenhouse gas emissions, the project includes commitments to install best-in-class emissions controls, including the use of vent gas recovery systems at two new compressor stations, which are expected to limit the carbon footprint from our growing operations.”

More information about the project is available on National Fuel’s website.

(Casper, WY) — The U.S. government has approved routes for a system of pipelines that would move carbon dioxide across Wyoming in what could be by far the largest such network in North America, if it is developed.

The greenhouse gas would be captured from coal-fired power plants, keeping it out of the atmosphere where it causes global warming. The captured gas would instead be pumped underground to add pressure to and boost production from oil fields.

In all, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management designated 1,100 miles of federal land for pipeline development through the Wyoming Pipeline Corridor Initiative, the Casper Star-Tribune reported.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed the plans days before leaving office with the rest of President Donald Trump's administration. The approval allows companies to begin submitting pipeline construction proposals.

Wyoming officials including Republican Gov. Mark Gordon have promoted carbon capture as a way to boost the state's struggling coal mining industry.

“The ability to have a CO2 delivery system, as made possible by the pipeline corridor initiative, helps make CO2 commercially viable,” Gordon said in a statement.

Whether a large system of carbon capture for oil production is technically and economically feasible remains to be seen. One of two such systems in North America, the Petra Nova facility in Texas, has been offline since global oil prices plummeted last year.

Energy markets drive development of carbon capture projects for oil development, said Matt Fry, state of Wyoming project manager for the pipeline initiative

“We’re just helping to incentivize and provide some sort of a bridge for folks to help them move forward. Hopefully, this and future federal incentives will help get the ball rolling, and we’ll get some projects on the ground,” Fry said

(Washington, D.C.) On January 13, 2021, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced publication in the Federal Register of its final rule for revisions and renewals to Nationwide Permits (NWPs). The USACE “reissued 12 and issued four new (NWPs) for work in wetlands and other waters that are regulated by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and/or Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.”

The utility line NWP has been split into three separate permits: one for oil or natural gas pipeline activities (NWP 12), one for electric utility line and telecommunications activities (NWP 57), and one for utility lines carrying water and other substances (NWP 58).

“In total, the final rule reissues twelve existing NWPs (most being revised to remove a 300-foot limit for losses to stream bed), issues four new NWPs (the two utility line NWPs split from NWP 12, and two new NWPs for seaweed and finfish mariculture activities), and revises the general conditions and definitions that apply to these 16 permits,” according to Houston-based law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP in an article published in Lexology. “The rule does not affect the other 40 existing NWPs last reissued in 2017, nor does it change the conditions or definitions that apply to them.”

The new final rule will go into effect March 14, 2021.

The final rule also eliminates many conditions that previously required the need to submit a pre-construction notification (PCN) before proceeding with any construction activity. NWP 12’s 2017 version required PCNs in 9 circumstances; the new version requires PCNs only when historic properties may be impacted or when there is the possibility that a protected species is in the area.

“The new 2021 NWPs for the three categories of utility lines remove five of these PCN triggers as redundant,” according to Vinson & Elkins. “However, the 2021 NWPs add one additional PCN trigger to the oil and gas NWP, which now requires a PCN for oil and gas pipeline activities when the overall project is to install a new pipeline greater than 250 miles in length. Commenters on the proposed rule had objected that applying this PCN trigger only to oil and gas pipelines would be arbitrary because it would improperly treat oil and gas pipelines differently than other utility lines, when neither the length of a pipeline nor the substance it conveys has any necessary relationship with the potential impacts on aquatic resources. The Army Corps disagreed with these comments, claiming that long-distance electric utility lines are often constructed as overhead lines, and that lines for water and other substances are often constructed to serve local communities and would likely be shorter in overall length.”

Concerns raised by infrastructure groups over increased litigation risks caused by splitting the utility line permits were rejected by the USACE. The agency “acknowledged that the changes would come with some challenges and some opportunities but reiterated that the new NWPs would continue to provide regulatory certainty for pipelines and other types of utility lines,” according to Vinson & Elkins

NWP-12

NWP-12 is a general permit authorizing minimal impacts to streams and waters of the United States during construction of utility lines. The USACE is subject to General Condition 18, which says the USACE cannot authorize “activities that are likely to directly or indirectly jeopardize the continued existence of a threatened or endangered species, as identified under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), or which will directly or indirectly destroy or adversely modify the critical habitat of such species. In other words, any activity that ‘may affect’ a listed species or critical habitat cannot be authorized,” according to Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services.

Courthouse Skirmishes

The NWP-12 permitting process allows the USACE to issue permits for individual segments of a pipeline instead of considering the total impact of a project.

Therefore, the NWP-12 permit has been one of the top hit list items of many who oppose the continued use of fossil fuels. There has been much criticism in court filings about what opponents feel is a lack of compliance with the ESA.

Proponents cite the benefits of increasing oil supply from a stable ally, which will create more jobs, while its critics “express concern about greenhouse gas emissions, continued U.S. dependency on fossil fuels, and the environmental risk of an oil release,” according to the Congressional Research Service fact sheet.

Back in November 2018, Judge Brian Morris of U.S. District Court for Montana blocked construction on the pipeline. That decision initially invalidated NWP-12 permits nationwide. However, the court later narrowed its ruling to include only oil and gas lines.

On July 6, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) declined to approve the Keystone Project’s NWP-12 application pending environmental review of the project. The SCOTUS decision also “stayed that injunction for all parties except Keystone XL, and the appeal over the merits of the Montana court’s decision is pending in the Ninth Circuit,” according to the Vinson & Elkins article.

“In yet another legal tussle over a pipeline using that permit (NWP-12) … a Richmond, Va., U.S. appeals court said Nov. 18 that the $6-billion Mountain Valley natural gas line could continue clearing, grading, and other earth-disturbing construction—rejecting opponents’ call for an emergency halt until it rules on a broader permit challenge,” according to Engineering News Record (ENR).

However, on November 9, 2020, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an immediate stay of Mountain Valley Pipeline’s stream and wetland crossing permits in southern West Virginia and Virginia, pending the bigger final ruling.

The Keystone XL project is already 2 years behind schedule and is now on hold until late 2021 due to the SCOTUS ruling. However, just as President Barack Obama vetoed a Senate bill approving the project, President Joe Biden signed orders on his first day in office revoking the project’s permit.

USACE Final Rule

In its final rule, the USACE addressed the criticism the agency has received over its methods of complying with the ESA.

“Accompanying the Army Corps’ finalization of the 2021 NWPs is its biological assessment, dated January 2, 2021, concluding that the rulemaking has no effect on listed species and designated critical habitat,” according to the Vinson & Elkins article. “The Army Corps noted that it is not required to seek written concurrence from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service on ‘no effect’ determinations, as stated in those agencies’ ESA Section 7 consultation handbook. The Army Corps continues its longstanding framework regarding compliance with Section 7 of the ESA, whereby the NWPs do not authorize any activity that ‘may affect’ listed species or designated critical habitat without the Army Corps first completing activity-specific Section 7 consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service, as appropriate. The Army Corps also concluded that it was not required to undertake a national programmatic ESA Section 7 consultation as part of the latest NWP rulemaking — the Army Corps took the same position in issuing the 2017 NWPs, and that position is central to the dispute in the Keystone XL litigation.”

With Biden vetoing the Keystone XL permit and the fact that the USACE published this final rule, the future of NWPs is uncertain.

“… (G)iven the outcome of the recent runoff election in Georgia, Congress and the new administration could potentially use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the final rulemaking,” according to the Vinson & Elkins article. “There is uncertainty about the effect of such an action, since doing so prohibits the agency from issuing a substantially similar rule in the future, and this may unusually constrain the Army Corps in the context of these NWPs, and NWP 12 in particular, which has been in place for many decades and reissued under administrations of both political parties. If the agency instead takes administrative action to forestall the effectiveness of the new NWPs, this time could also give the Biden administration an opening to undertake additional analysis that might reduce litigation risk on the ESA issues. The Biden administration could also attempt to trim back the availability of nationwide permits for politically disfavored types of projects.”

(Houston, TX) Millard County planning and zoning commissioners will consider a $350 million expansion of Magnum’s master-planned energy industrial complex north of Delta when they meet this week.

An existing permit already allows Magnum to develop solar electrical generation as well as compressed air energy storage operations at its current location near the Intermountain Power Plant.

Now the company wants to expand the boundaries of that project in partnership with global energy company Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) to develop green hydrogen production and storage facilities and related enterprises as part of the company’s vision for a Western Energy Hub located here.

Earlier this year the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) contracted with Mitsubishi for two advanced gas turbines, capable of burning a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen to produce electricity, part of a long-term plan to convert the Intermountain Power Plant (IPP) coal fired units into a cleaner burning power producer.

IPA envisions eventually transitioning IPP to 100-percent carbon-free renewable hydrogen by 2045. Magnum’s success is said to be pivotal to that effort.

Called the ACES Delta Project—ACES stands for Advanced Clean Energy Storage—Magnum and Mitsubishi want to build the first phase in what will likely be a 10-year development to eventually include up to 15 gas storage caverns, up to four compressed air energy storage units, up to 1,400 acres of solar generation, up to 10 electrolyzers used to make hydrogen, large brine evaporative ponds and monitoring wells, as well as multiple transport and operations facilities.

“At this time, Magnum and Mitsubishi anticipate the first ACES Delta Project to be constructed under the amended CUP will be the green hydrogen generation and storage business. This is due to the strong interest in the energy industry to use green hydrogen as a carbon- free fuel additive to natural gas for use in electric generation and as a standalone fuel source for hydrogen fuel cells in both commercial and personal transportation sectors,” Magnum’s proposed CUP amendment application states. “The core build out of this business is anticipated to be completed in three phases over the next 10 years with construction of the first phase starting in early 2021.”

The hydrogen Magnum proposes to produce will be considered “green” hydrogen because the business plans to power its hydrogen-producing electrolyzers using renewable solar and wind energy.

Water can be electrolytically converted to hydrogen and oxygen in a process first developed for industrial purposes in the 1940s. Magnum’s application states it already owns the requisite water rights for the project.

“Magnum and Mitsubishi anticipate up to 15 ventilated shelters will be installed in the next 10 years and each shelter will house multiple electrolyzers. The electrolyzers will be paired with up to 15 storage caverns each anticipated to store 150,000 MWh of energy in the form of green hydrogen,” the CUP amendment application states.

The company has not yet settled on a final engineering design for the electrolyzers it plans to build. While the company’s first phase is predicted to be valued at about $350 million, the overall valuation of the project won’t be known until overall build out is complete, the company reports.

Planning commissioners are expected to recommend approval of Magnum’s CUP amendment to county commissioners, who will review the project at a future meeting.

Meanwhile, in other energy developments in Millard County, the Kern River Gas Transmission Company last week hosted two open houses, one in Delta and another in Holden, as part of a proposed application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build a 36-mile, 24-inch natural gas pipeline from Holden to IPP.

The Delta Lateral Project, as the pipeline is called, would supply IPP fuel when it transitions to natural gas electricity transmission in 2025.

Kern River anticipates starting construction on the new gas line in spring 2023, completing the project in May 2024.

(Waynesburg, PA) Representatives from various companies joined state and local officials at the Center Township Volunteer Fire Department hall Oct. 28 to announce plans for a complete gas pipeline replacement that will benefit more than 1,600 residents and businesses in Greene and Washington counties.

Officials said the Peoples Natural Gas pipeline, known as the Goodwin Tombaugh System, was first installed nearly a century ago and is in dire need of a modernized replacement.

The replacement project, which is expected to be completed in seven years, will upgrade the 300 miles of pipeline through the two counties, with a little more than half of the line being situated in Greene. Officials said the goal of the project is to transform the current antiquated gathering system into a new modern distribution system.

Mike Denny, manager of engineering design for Peoples Natural Gas, said the modernized distribution system will benefit the environment through a reduction of methane emissions, provide a potential for reducing customers’ costs and also enable the company to provide its services to more customers.

“This is an exciting time for our customers, residents and businesses throughout both counties,” Denny said. “There aren’t opportunities very often to do a complete replacement of a major pipeline, so this is a huge deal.”

Denny said the company hopes to obtain permits for the project in 2021, which he referred to as the “kickoff year” for the project.

Mike Huwar, president of Peoples Natural Gas; Bill Roland, director of government affairs for Peoples Gas; state Rep. Pam Snyder and state Sen. Camera Bartolotta all spoke at the event.

Huwar spoke about the importance of modernizing the antiquated system and recognized Snyder and Bartolotta for their efforts in supporting the project,

Snyder and Bartolotta discussed the positive impact the project will have for the area.

“I’m relieved that Peoples Natural Gas is making this necessary investment into Greene County and other parts of Southwestern Pennsylvania,” Snyder said. “This project will ensure that more than 1,600 customers will have safe and reliable gas lines providing energy to their homes for decades to come.”

Snyder added “improving our infrastructure is key to the future development of our region, and this private investment to modernize our gas lines is long overdue.”

Bartolotta said she is pleased the antiquated pipeline will be fully replaced with state-of-the-art technology that is environmentally friendly and cost effective.

“Not only will this be a benefit to the consumers along the line, it will also create jobs and support the local economy,” Bartolotta said. “It was my pleasure to support this project as we navigated the approval process in Harrisburg over the last few years. This is a great day for all of Southwestern Pennsylvania and I am glad to be in Rogersville to celebrate.”

(Tulsa, OK)— Heavy investment in skilled machinists, cutting edge technologies and robust quality management programs is driving new business opportunities for Vacuworx with a newly renovated machine shop inside its Tulsa headquarters.

Vacuworx is now extending its exacting standards used to machine and fabricate many of the parts for its own products into a new business opportunity. The global equipment manufacturer is turning excess capacity into a new revenue stream as the company takes on contract work for outside companies.

Vacuworx offers comprehensive design, CAM programming and machining services on an array of raw materials. The shop can accommodate short to large production runs and specializes in prototype development and finish treatments to suit individual needs. The new venture reflects the company’s overall dedication to safety, focus on efficiency and investment in proven technologies with 10 CNC machines, fully simultaneous five-axis machining, and a dual-spindle, live-tooling, bar-fed, part-catching lathe.

Vacuworx Director of Manufacturing D.J. Gall oversaw construction of the space during a three-month build-out on the company’s 60,000-square-foot campus at 10105 E. 55th Place. Renovations included durable epoxy floor coatings, four bridge cranes for safe and easy maneuvering of parts and equipment, and all new LED fixtures and bulbs for energy efficient illumination throughout the entire facility. A state-of-the-art inspection room was designed for the most precise measurements and an HVAC system with three 15-ton air conditioners was installed to allow for complete climate control and redundancy.

Vacuworx has already seen success crafting high-grade parts and components manufactured according to the rigorous specifications of customers operating in the oil and gas, automotive and agricultural industries.

Product quality and safety are top priorities for Vacuworx, which is certified to ISO Standard 9001:2015 for Quality Management Systems and is currently pursuing AS 9100 certification, emphasizing the ability to meet or exceed quality management standards for aviation, defense and space organizations.

Vacuworx Machine Shop Manager Josh Carpio, who leads an eight-person team credited with helping improve machine cycle times at Vacuworx by up to 70 percent, said they have made significant progress toward automation and “lights out” manufacturing, which requires no physical human presence outside of normal business hours to achieve maximum productivity and customer satisfaction.

“We have a safe, bright and super clean facility designed to promote smooth workflows, the utmost efficiency and a high level of accountability,” Carpio said. “And we’ve made a lot of headway with running ‘lights out,’ the way these machines were intended, to work continuously without sacrificing quality.”

“Our people understand the importance of having the best technology and how it can benefit the company and our customers,” said Bill Solomon, president of Vacuworx. “We are tapping into the vision and creativeness of our best employees, utilizing the increased capacity and superior tooling ability to best serve our customers so they can grow while keeping both eyes fixed on their core business.”

(Pittsburgh, PA) Representatives from various companies joined state and local officials at the Center Township Volunteer Fire Department hall Oct. 28 to announce plans for a complete gas pipeline replacement that will benefit more than 1,600 residents and businesses in Greene and Washington counties.

Officials said the Peoples Natural Gas pipeline, known as the Goodwin Tombaugh System, was first installed nearly a century ago and is in dire need of a modernized replacement.

The replacement project, which is expected to be completed in seven years, will upgrade the 300 miles of pipeline through the two counties, with a little more than half of the line being situated in Greene. Officials said the goal of the project is to transform the current antiquated gathering system into a new modern distribution system.

Mike Denny, manager of engineering design for Peoples Natural Gas, said the modernized distribution system will benefit the environment through a reduction of methane emissions, provide a potential for reducing customers’ costs and also enable the company to provide its services to more customers.

“This is an exciting time for our customers, residents and businesses throughout both counties,” Denny said. “There aren’t opportunities very often to do a complete replacement of a major pipeline, so this is a huge deal.”

Denny said the company hopes to obtain permits for the project in 2021, which he referred to as the “kickoff year” for the project.

Tulsa, Oklahoma, September 2020 — The Oklahoma district of the U.S. Small Business Administration has named Vacuworx the 2020 Manufacturer of the Year as part of National Small Business Week.

For more than 50 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration has celebrated National Small Business Week (NSBW), recognizing the contributions and successes of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Vacuworx, a global leader in vacuum lifting technology, has been engaged in manufacturing and exporting heavy-duty material handling systems since its establishment in 1999. The company, which celebrated 21 years of industry building accomplishments this year, was founded with the simple goal of engineering a better, safer way to handle pipe in the field for the oil and gas sector.

The current lineup of Vacuworx lifting systems consists of seven different product series, each with applications in various markets such as oil and gas, water and sewer, concrete demolition and highway and heavy construction. With standard lifting capacities ranging from 1,700 lb to 55,000 lb, Vacuworx systems can handle a wide variety of materials including pipe, precast and plate.

After winning the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s 2019 Manufacturer of the Year award, Vacuworx was eligible for consideration at the state level through the Oklahoma district of the U.S. Small Business Association. Nominees were evaluated based on several criteria including an increase in sales or profits, growth in employment and maintaining exportation to overseas markets. Businesses were also judged on effective solutions to overcoming market-entry and logistical challenges, and for their support of small businesses entering the export arena.

Vacuworx has invested heavily in laying the groundwork for continued strategic expansion and diversification into emerging markets and geographies while championing the industries it serves. Operating both domestically and internationally, it has an established sales and distribution network throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

(Washington, D.C.) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently ruled that Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC can resume construction on the stalled natural gas pipeline in West Virginia and Virginia.

FERC lifted a stop order that had been issued in October 2019 for all of the pipeline except for a 25-mile segment within the Jefferson National Forest in western Virginia.

FERC also gave the company another two years to 2022 to complete the project. The old certificate of public necessity expires Oct. 13.

The pipeline still needs a permit from the U.S. Forest Service to pass through the national forest. That permit is expected to be issued later this year.

Last week, eight environmental groups asked a federal appeals court to prevent construction from resuming on the $5.7 billion pipeline.

The groups filed petitions with the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

The groups asked the appeals court to halt construction until their appeals of the reissued federal permits can be heard.

Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC said it would delay any stream crossing work until Oct. 17, at the earliest.

Two key permits have been reissued in recent weeks.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled that the pipeline is unlikely to jeopardize threatened or endangered species.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved permits that will allow the natural gas pipeline to cross wetlands and nearly 1,000 streams in West Virginia and Virginia.

Work was halted in October 2019 over legal challenges and permits being rescinded.

The pipeline is 92% complete and should be finished in early 2021, the company has said.

The pipeline is owned by joint-venture partners EQM Midstream Partners, NextEra US Gas Assets, Con Edison Transmission, WGL Midstream, and RGC Midstream.

(Houston, TX) FERC has given the proposed Magnolia liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project near Lake Charles, LA, and an associated Kinder Morgan Inc. pipeline expansion five additional years to be placed in service because of the difficulty in securing long-term customers to finance the project.

The 8.8 million metric ton/year (mmty) project and the so-called Lake Charles Expansion Project on the Kinder Morgan Louisiana Pipeline (KMLP) must be placed in service by April 15, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Wednesday. The proposed KMLP line would supply up to 1.4 Bcf/d to the project for 20 years.

Magnolia owner Glenfarne Group LLC and Kinder Morgan last month requested the time extension because “unforeseeable developments in the global LNG market have affected Magnolia LNG’s ability to enter into long-term LNG offtake contracts with international customers, which are critical to securing project financing and achieving” a positive final investment decision (FID).

FERC authorized construction in April 2016 with a five-year time frame to place it in service. The developers could seek additional time extensions if necessary.

Glenfarne founder Brendan Duval told NGI in June that the New York-based company expects to reach an FID by the end of 2021 on both Magnolia and its Texas LNG export project near Brownsville, TX.

Glenfarne acquired Magnolia in June for $2 million from Australia’s Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd. after two previous deals fell through.

“We believe Magnolia LNG has the right size and scope to best compete in the current and future LNG market and is well-positioned to meet global demand starting in the middle of this decade,” Duval said recently.

(Calgary, AL, Canada) Alberta’s October announcement of a new natural gas policy is focused on three initiatives: a plastics recycling program, the development of a hydrogen economy and exports of natural gas to Asia and Europe. The last would require new export pipelines and up to three Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) export plants.

As reported in Calgary’s Herald, 7 October Alberta aims to become a “centre of excellence for plastics diversion and recycling” by 2030 and also join in the exportation of hydrogen and hydrogen-based products in North America by 2040.” However, the recent worldwide increase in the construction of new plastics feedstock plants is leading to fears of a potential glut in plastics production by 2030. Also, increasing public demands to cut plastic waste and increase recycling rates, threaten the viability of Alberta's policies.

Alberta could begin blending hydrogen into its natural gas pipeline system as soon as next year and a detailed plan in line with neighbouring British Columbia and Saskatchewan’s hydrogen policies should be ready by 2023. Dale Nally, Alberta’s Associate Minister of Natural Gas is reported by the Globe and Mail 6 October “Hydrogen by 2050 is going to be a C $3.5-trillion industry and we want as big of a piece of that for Alberta as we possibly can. ” Given the worldwide glut in LNG, it is unlikely that the three new LNG plants will be built.

(Dallas, TX) Navigator Borger Express LLC, an affiliated company of Navigator Energy Services (Navigator), announced recently the launch of a binding open season on its Borger Express pipeline system (Borger Express), to provide shippers the opportunity to secure crude oil transportation services from Cushing, Oklahoma to Borger, Texas. Prior to participating in the open season, interested parties must execute a confidentiality agreement to govern the receipt of the open season documentation. All potential shippers must submit binding commitments for service on the Borger Express pipeline by 12:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on November 5, 2020.

The Borger Express pipeline will provide the new services by utilizing approximately 180 miles of an existing crude oil pipeline, and constructing nearly 200 miles of new, 16-inch diameter pipeline from Cleo Springs, Oklahoma to Borger. The project will provide shippers with critical transportation services for numerous grades of light and heavy crude oil from the Cushing storage hub to third party storage and a regional refinery in Borger. Subject to receipt of sufficient shipper commitments and all necessary permits and approvals, Borger Express is expected to be placed in service in the first quarter of 2022.

(Sedro Wooley, WA) Snelson Companies and PLH Group, Inc. are pleased to announce that Kevin Farris has joined the Snelson team as Director of Business Development. Mr. Farris’ industry experience, technical expertise and focus on customer relationships will support Snelson’s mission to provide value-added, safety-first construction services to the energy and utility industries.

Mr. Farris brings over twenty-five years of experience in the energy industry, recently working with Henkels and McCoy, Inc. in Chicago as their Senior Director of Gas Operations and with Bilfinger Westcon. He has also held management positions with Spectra Energy, Citizens Gas, Williams Company, El Paso Energy, and as an independent consultant developing oil & gas pipeline Integrity Management Programs (IMP) for several companies. His educational background includes a B.S. in Physics from Indiana State University and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue.

(Tulsa, OK) Williams received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to move forward with its Leidy South Project that will create 582,400 Dth/d of additional pipeline capacity and provide enough natural gas to serve the equivalent of more than 2.5 million homes and further enable power plants to convert from coal to cleaner-burning natural gas. The project will connect abundant supplies of natural gas produced by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Seneca Resources Company, LLC in the Marcellus and Utica regions of Pennsylvania with demand markets along the Atlantic Seaboard by the 2021-2022 winter heating season. UGI Utilities Inc. is a local distribution company that will be using its capacity to directly serve its customers in northeast Pennsylvania.

“As the United States switches to clean power to energize our electric grids, Williams is excited and proud to be the backbone that connects the best supplies of dry gas with our country’s largest demand centers,” said Alan Armstrong, president and chief executive officer of Williams. “This project represents one of many opportunities to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions with right here, right now available solutions as coal-fired electric generation plants are replaced with natural gas units to reliably balance the intermittency of new renewable resources. In fact, there remain more than 80 coal plants in the states Transco serves that can potentially be displaced by clean, efficient and affordable natural gas.”

By maximizing the use of the existing Transco transmission corridor and expanding existing facilities in Pennsylvania, the Leidy South Project will substantially reduce the amount of new infrastructure and land use required to meet these needs – minimizing community and environmental impact and allowing residential, commercial and power generation customers to efficiently access natural gas supplies on the Transco system. In addition, the construction of the project’s two greenfield compressor facilities is estimated to generate $100 million in economic activity within Pennsylvania, supporting 680 jobs with an estimated payroll of $28 million, and produce $1.3 million in state tax revenue, according to third-party researchers.