Editor,
In response to the May 31, 2017 Guestatorial, “Diamond is not a pipeline,” I submit the following as an interested citizen with 35 years of work knowledge in the oil and gas industry. Several items in the article beg for a response:
By the simplest definition: Pipeline – a conduit made from pipes connected end-to-end for long-distance fluid or gas transport. The first metal interstate pipeline was built in Pennsylvania starting in 1879 and transported crude oil to Bayonne, NJ. By the 1920s, there were thousands of miles of gathering, sales, intra and interstate transport, and distribution pipelines being used to transport a variety of fluids. The Arkansas legislators would have been aware of all these uses of pipelines.
Diamond Pipeline is a federally regulated interstate pipeline and is subject to rigorous design, construction, operation, and maintenance standards. The Diamond Pipeline will exceed the United States Department of Transportation pipeline standards and will include a number of safety elements. New pipe will be manufactured by an Arkansas company to exceed industry standards and specifications. The pipeline will be laid at an increased depth to reduce susceptibility to third-party damage.
The Diamond Pipeline consists of approximately 440 miles of 20-inch pipeline capable of transporting up to 200,000 barrels per day of domestic sweet crude oil grades produced in the Permian Basin, Bakken, and Mid-Continent regions from Cushing, Okla., to Valero’s Memphis Refinery. This refinery supplies refined products to western Tennessee and eastern Arkansas. The pipeline runs west to east not to the Gulf Coast. Diamond Pipeline LLC is a joint venture between Houston, Texas-based Plains All American Pipeline and San Antonio, Texas-based Valero.
I am unable to locate any information about an entity named PIFES. I would provide more information but I have hit the 200-word limit. All of this information is readily available on the Internet.
Larry Williamson
P.S. Diamond is buying the pipe for the pipeline from an Arkansas company, creating more than 2000 contract construction jobs, creating about 15 high paying permanent operation jobs, and paying an estimated $11 million in property taxes per year. This is a major long-term economic benefit for Arkansas.
Larry,
Here is an update on what PAA did in May 2015 in California, 901 Pipeline El Refugio Beach oil spill. Diamond is guaranteed to spill, it will run around the clock without repairs until it leaks.
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On May 19, 2015, an oil pipeline failed near Santa Barbara, sending thousands of gallons of oil to the Refugio Beach shore.
“It was devastating to me. It almost doesn’t have words. It was just like a tar field,” said Janet Wolf, Santa Barbara County District 2 Supervisor.
The oil pipeline rupture sent more than 140,000 gallons of oil spewing down into the Pacific Ocean, killing more than 200 birds, 106 marine mammals and an unknown number of marine wildlife residing along the surf line.
Workers in hazmat suits spent days crouching over oil-stained beaches scooping up the toxic sludge.
To mark the anniversary, county supervisors met this week, discussing prevention efforts and the lessons learned from mistakes made.
“The response time was huge and one of the most frustrating things about this incident,” Wolf said.
Clean-up efforts didn’t begin until 16 to 18 hours after the spill was discovered.
“A lot of that oil made it from the pipeline on shore into the ocean and that never should have happened,” said Linda Krop, Chief Counsel for the Environmental Defense Center, the organization that was developed in response to Santa Barbara’s first massive oil spill in 1969.
That year, an oil well blew out off the coast, dumping three million gallons of crude oil and coating 35 miles of beaches, killing thousands of animals. This sparked President Richard Nixon to focus on environmental policies.
“Which not only raised a lot of attention and awareness about the risks of offshore development but also led to the enactment of the state and federal environmental protection laws we have today,” Krop said.
Laws that are still in a constant tug of war with state environmental protection bills now colliding with federal goals and regulations.
“Between Congress and the president, there’s a tremendous interest in increasing oil and gas development. So even though we haven’t had a federal oil lease since 1984, that could change,” Krop said.
For now, since Plains All American stopped all crude oil transport from its Ellwood onshore facility after their 2015 spill, Venoco is decommissioning platform Holly, which has been dry since the spill.
The actual pipe that ruptured, line 901, still sits empty and idle while Plains All American remains under investigation with several pending lawsuits from the county, state and federal governments.
“No one even knows if that pipeline will be replaced, so this issue is going to be going on for some time,” Krop said.
Two years and two oil spills later, the California shoreline and Refugio State Beach continues to be a battleground between environmentalists and pro-oil developers, but with both sides agreeing on one thing – learning from past mistakes to stop history from repeating.
Hundreds of marine mammals were rescued during the 2015 spill. While we won’t know how many of them survived, one rescue group was able to track some of the birds.
Fifty brown pelicans were captured, covered in crude oil. After hours of cleaning and two weeks of rehabilitation, they were released back into the wild.
UC Davis’ Oiled Wildlife Care Network placed tracking devices on 12 of them and the group says the rescue effort was a success. All the birds migrated and survived at least 18 weeks after their release.
“It’s heart-warming to see them go home. They do not stop, they do not turn around and say thank you, they just go, and that’s a wonderful thing,” said Christine Fiorello, PhD, of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, an organization in partnership with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
While nearly all transmission signals have since been lost, all the rescued birds had identifying tags. The organization says 31 out of the 50 have been re-sighted these last two years.
http://www.ksby.com/story/35473707/refugio-oil-spill-two-year-anniversary-whats-happening-now
Larry,
I sent a LTE today with a response to your comments. My opinons are only for Diamond and frack shale crude. The energy return over energy invested is not 1 per 100 barrels but more like 1 per 10 or 1 per 5 barrels. ERoEI is a good metric for crude oil extraction.
Keystone XL, and all other pipelines have detailed information on the projects – Diamond’s website is unreliable and the content is not legaly binding. They can say whatever they want and change it at will.
At first, they promised 1,500 contract jobs, now they say 2,000. These jobs are not for local people, the line is constructed by crews from Texas and other states, moving from project to project.
The 15 permanent jobs are for 3 states – Arkansas may get 5 – and with a 24/7 operation 15 posts is insufficient. Here is the math. 24 hours per day, 7 days per week = 168 hours per week. For 40 hours per week jobs, 168 divided by 40 = 4.2 This means, there are only 4 people covering 440-miles at any time of the day. People get sick, take days off so there may be 3 people or less making sure the pump stations and everything is working. Diamond is a low-cost operation, saving every penny. The don’t have to carry liability insurance, so they don’t pay for damages, and run the line until it leaks.
In 2014, when Diamond land acquisition third party agents knocked on people’s doors making an offer no one could refuse, the ROUTE has not been approved. Diamond took private property by force, an illegal taking. What would have happened if USACE had opposed the river crossings?
Do you have details on the property taxes per year? Not all is for Arkansas, OK and TN want their share. I asked an accountant how pipelines are valued for tax purposes, and depreciating $900 million over the life of the line the counties traversed by Diamond many not get as much as you think. That is what “estimated means.”
Here are some references on Welspun:
http://katv.com/archive/lr-industrial-accident-kills-one-injures-another
http://katv.com/archive/osha-fines-welspun-for-health-hazards
https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/lawsuit-news/350759-welspun-class-action-says-egyptian-cotton-sheets-fake/
http://katv.com/archive/fire-at-welspun-plants-causes-major-damage
The 2016 KATV report on temporary workers maimed in the job, has been removed … I will ask why
Larry,
Thank you for reading my guest editorial, and for sending a letter with your comments.
My sources are from public sources, I do not have inside information, and I do not work for this newspaper. I write to understand, to share my opinions, and to learn from others. You have many more years in the Petroleum Industry and I respect your comments.
Please let me know if you see this comment. I would like to try to answer your questions.
Thank you, Luis Contreras