Photo Courtesy of Spectra Energy Last fall, Spectra Energy crews completed the Texas Eastern Appalachia to Market project. Photo Courtesy of Quanta Services Mears HDD, a Quanta Services company, prepares to install pipe at a job in Maryland. Related Links: Pipeline Specialists Profit From Safety, Not Shale Boom Bakken Oil-Shale Extraction Sparks a Construction Boom Welder Shortfall Fires Up Industry Training Programs to Work Overtime Collapsing crude oil prices and sagging prices for natural gas have left the North American energy sector reeling and led many hydrocarbon producers to plan sizable cutbacks in their 2015 drilling plans. But thanks to
Photo Courtesy of Sasol Ethane Cracker site requires installation of concrete piles. Related Links: South Africa's Sasol Moves on New Petrochemical Project in Louisiana Western Canada Eyes Gas-to-Liquid Production Facility Construction is underway on an $8.1-billion ethane cracking plant after its owner, Sasol Ltd., in January delayed a decision to invest in a neighboring project estimated to cost up to $14 billion. Crews for three construction contractors are now performing site preparation, piling and foundation work on the Westlake, La., site while four other contractors have been awarded contracts for later mobilization.Cajun Constructors Inc., Civil Construction Co. and James Industrial
Related Links: Ball and Taper Technology Fukushima Disaster Fukushima Forward First Subsea, based in the U.K., has supplied an innovative cable-connector system in preparation for linking to the first of two 7-MW floating wind turbines for the second phase of the Fukushima offshore floating pilot wind test project this summer.After a magnitude-9.0 earthquake on March 11, 2011, triggered a tsunami and knocked a nuclear powerplant off line, the Japanese government was quick to seek alternative means of generating electricity.The test project, commissioned in 2012 by the Japan Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry, is laying the foundation to build the
Courtesy ARRUP Pipeline developers face risks of securing rights of way and permitting issues involving multiple provincial and national jurisdictions, says an official with South Africa's ARRUP. Courtesy Edison Trans Saharan Gas Pipeline will deliver an estimated 8 billion cu m of natural gas annually to Italy from Algeria. Africa is expanding its oil and gas pipeline network as countries in the region move to entrench distribution of the commodities in the domestic market and transport more to regional and international markets.Algeria, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Ghana are at various stages of oil and gas pipeline construction projects to
Courtesy TLSB Contract value for generator sets at Swansea Bay tidal project is estimated to be approximately $465 million. Courtesy TLSB Swansea Bay breakwater, off the South Wales coast, extends 9.5 km, enclosing 11.5 sq km where tidal range is 8.5 m. Related Links: Tide May Be Turning for Power Generated by Moon and Waves Scottish Offshore Tidal Project Receives Approval World records for tidal and offshore wind power are likely to be broken in the U.K., because two major energy projects made big advances during February. A 2,400 MW North Sea wind farm secured government approval, while generating equipment
Photo Courtesy of First Solar Inc. First Solar workers install thin-film photovoltaic modules on a project similar to the proposed $848-million California Flats project, which will provide power for tech giant Apple. Related Links: Clouds Start To Lift From the Solar Sector Apple Repurposes Arizona Plant Left by Failed Supplier A flurry of power-supply deals between renewable-energy providers in California and private firms Apple, Google and Kaiser Permanente will mean billions in construction dollars for the state, which is already a U.S. leader in renewable-energy expansion. The deals signal that private, industrial-scale customers are playing an increasing role in wholesale
Photo Courtesy Sprague Theobald Russian trawler near Greenland finds ample open water in a formerly ice-bound channel. Video by Sprague Theobald Related Links: Foss Maritime The Port of Seattle this winter has been locked in a discussion about oil drilling in the Arctic after approving a short-term lease with Foss Maritime, whose clients include Royal Dutch Shell PLC, to use part of Terminal 5 to stage marine vessels.The agreement with Foss opens up the port to housing ships planned for Arctic oil-drilling exploration, environmental groups say.THEOBALDSprague Theobald, a two-time Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker and expert sailor, has voyaged through the
Related Links: Dept. of Energy Suspends Work on FutureGen 2.0 U.S. Energy Policy Shaped by Natural Gas, Renewables Development in 2014 Live Oak LNG Live Oak LNG, a fully owned subsidiary of Parallax Energy, plans to build a $2-billion natural-gas liquefaction and export project near Lake Charles, La. Project teams are completing initial study work, which will be followed by federal and state permitting processes."We anticipate completing the initial definition phase and applying for FERC permits within the next few weeks," says Martin Houston, chairman of Parallax Energy and Live Oak."In addition, we believe we will receive notice to proceed
Related Links: Clean Coal: Is CCS Fossil Fuels' Best Hope? (ENR, 2014) Clean Coal Viable, DOE panel says (ENR, 2010) The U.S. Dept. of Energy has pulled out of the $1.65-billion FutureGen carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) demonstration project in Meredosia, Ill. striking a perhaps fatal blow to the project just as it was gearing up to begin construction.A DOE official said on Feb. 4 that the project had not achieved sufficient progress in securing additional financing to supplement the $1 billion allocated by DOE through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Those unused funds have been
SunEdison Alternative energy developer SunEdison's $2.4-billion purchase of First Wind provides 21 MW of solar assets but moves firm into wind sector for the first time. Missouri-based solar-power developer SunEdison aims to become one of the country's leading alternative-energy providers with its $2.4-billion acquisition of Boston wind-energy giant First Wind, completed on Jan. 29. The deal is SunEdison's first involving wind energy. In the transaction, the firm and one of its operating units, TerraForm Power, purchased 500 MW of operating wind powerplants and 21 MW of operating solar powerplants from First Wind. "With the acquisition of First Wind, SunEdison becomes the leading
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