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GPA
eBrief - June 2007 those
preferring a hardcopy may download one here To
better serve our members, GPA will be altering the look and timing of many of
our publications/communications with members. Please provide any feedback you
may have. Below
is an outline of eBrief topics...follow specific links to the desired topic *********FULL
TEXT OF ARTICLES********* Message
from Mark Sutton, GPA Executive Director
At last week's Boardof Directors
meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., we had a lot of discussion around GPA's strategic
initiatives. It became very evident at the meeting just how much focus and dedication
our board members and committee volunteers bring to the table. We can't thank
you enough for what you do, and I can say with confidence that GPA is moving in
the right direction because of your involvement.
The Legislative and
Regulatory Affairs initiative received a significant amount of attention last
week. Federal and state issues impact each of our U.S. members, and those in attendance
agreed that it is time for GPA to take a much more proactive role in the identification,
communication and advocacy of those issues. In order to expand GPA's involvement
in federal and state issues, the Board motioned to create an additional GPA staff
position to support the effort and additional workload that comes along with it.
The new position will be managed with existing cash flow, although, we do anticipate
a second step in this initiative which, if approved, will require a membership
dues increase. We feel strongly that our members will benefit from this person's
efforts, and staff will begin the search for this new candidate soon. This is
just one step toward a concentrated, proactive effort, and we appreciate your
support as we move forward.
In support of our Communications initiative,
Dollahon PR is developing our communications strategic plan that will shape our
overall GPA communications efforts going forward. Areas of immediate focus include
making communications more timely and consistent, while also exploring ideas and
options to better "brand" GPA, such as modernizing our logo and creating
a more consistent look and feel for the information that we send out. This will
be an ongoing process, and as always, your feedback is welcome and helpful.
You also will begin to see our Education initiative building momentum. The
group is working on a university initiative as an outreach to college recruiting,
which focuses on making sure that students studying engineering are aware of the
midstream industry. In addition, GPA and GPSA involvement in technical schools
will help with curricula in these programs and will serve to better acquaint us
with the new talent to soon become available.
Though I haven't mentioned
them all, we're excited about the work that has taken place for each of our initiatives,
and we'll continue to keep you posted on our progress. If you have any questions
or have an interest in serving on a committee, contact anyone on our staff.
PERC NEWS
Producer Representatives Appointed
to PERC
The GPA Board recently approved three reappointments and one new appointment
of producer representatives to the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC).
David Regan, Targa Resources, was appointed to replace John Gawronski, Targa.
Gawronski has served on the Council for the last seven years and currently serves
as chairman of PERC. David Wunch, SemGroup; Mike Schwartje, ConocoPhillips; and
Jay Weinheimer, Williams Energy, were all reappointed by the Board to the Council.
The appointments will be effective immediately following the July PERC meeting
in Washington, D.C. The members of GPA would like to sincerely thank each of the
above mentioned individuals and their companies for participation and support
of the Propane Council. If your company is a producer of propane and has an interest
in nominating a potential Propane Council member, please contact Mark
Sutton.
GPA and PERC Memorandum of Understanding
Finalized
In other PERC news, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between
GPA and PERC has been finalized and is now in place. This MOU will provide $150,000
to GPA's 2007-2008 Research Program and $50,000 for administrative and support
functions. PERC's support of GPA research will better align the two organizations
and it validates the concept that the GPA's program does benefit the entire propane
industry value chain.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
The following three new projects are being recommended
to be balloted on the 2007 Fall GPA Research Ballot:
- Project 081
- Industrial Natural Gas Dewpoint by Equation of State Prediction - three years
duration at $50K, 60K, 60K = $170K
- Project 082 - Impact of Aromatics
on Acid Gas Injection - three years duration at $60K per year = $180K
- Project
083 - Solubility of Non-Aromatics in TEG - three years duration at $60K per
year = $180K
Two
projects will not be balloted as the money will be provided by the Propane Education
and Research Council (PERC) as follows:
- Project 084 - Methanol Separation
from LPG and Propane - $100K for one year
- Project 085 - Freeze Valve
Correlation to Water Content/MEOH - $50K for one year
Three Projects
will be funded by GPSA and include the following:
- Project 921 - Engineering
Data Base - $10K
- Project 975-04 - Engineering Data Book - Plot Upgrades
- $10K
- Project 975-08 - Solids Program - $5K
Tech
Talk – Activities of GPA’s Technical Committee and
Technical Sections
Successfully
balloted - TP-27 and TP-15
TP-27 and TP-15 have been balloted successfully through GPA and are awaiting final
review by API.
TP-27 is an extension of TP-25 (1998). TP-25 was developed
to unify temperature correction factors used in custody transfer, but was limited
to a 60 degrees Fahrenheit relative density range of .3500 to .6880 and did not
include SI unit correction factors. TP-27 was developed to include the correction
factors for base temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius with
density ranges of 351.7 to 687.8 kg/m3 and 331.7 to 683.6 kg/m3 respectively.
TP-15 was developed to replace a correlation that worked well for propane
mixtures, but not as well for natural gasolines. TP-15 only requires the relative
density to be known, which is typically measured. TP-15 was last revised in 2003.
This revision addressed equation errors of the publication as well as minor formatting
changes.
Awaiting Board Approval -
GPA 2107-07: Fractionation Grade Product Specifications
The GPA
Product Specifications Section, Section C, has proposed the creation of six new
natural gas liquid (NGL) product specifications that will cover the following
fractionation grade products: 1. Ethane 2. Ethane/Propane Mix 3. Propane (Wet)
4. Iso-Butane 5. Normal Butane 6. Natural Gasoline
As with other GPA
Board approved specifications, they will be available for purchase.
Board
Members: If you have not yet submitted your ballot, please do so. It is important
that all voices are heard on these specifications.
Currently being
balloted - GPA 2172-07: Calculation
of Gross Heating Value, Relative Density and
Compressibility Factor for Natural Gas Mixtures from Compositional Analysis
GPA 2172-07 presents procedures for calculating, at base conditions from composition,
the following properties of natural gas mixtures:
- Gross Heating Value
- Relative Density (real and ideal)
- Compressibility Factor
- Potential
Hydrocarbon Liquid Content
Revisions are currently being balloted in
GPA's Product and Specifications and Analysis and Test Methods Sections (Sections
H and B) and API.
Revision to Ballot Soon - GPA
2145-03: Table of Physical Constants for Hydrocarbons and Other
Compounds of Interest to the Natural Gas Industry
GPA 2145 provides
the gas processing industry with a convenient compilation of authoritative numerical
values for the paraffin hydrocarbons and other compounds occurring in natural
gas and natural gas liquids, as well as for a few other compounds of interest
to the industry. The data in GPA 2145 is currently being evaluated and recalculated
by TRC at NIST in Boulder, Colo., as is customary with these physical constants.
Any revisions resulting from this evaluation will be updated, and GPA 2145 will
then be balloted through GPA. The ballot is expected to be distributed late Summer.
GPA LEGISLATIVE & REGULATORY AFFAIRS UPDATES
Below are reports from last week's Board meeting. All referenced reports are available
online.
FEDERAL TAX SUBCOMMITTEE CHANGES
The Federal Tax Subcommittee is no longer a standing subcommittee. The subcommittee,
under the leadership of Ralph Thomas, Anadarko, has been extremely beneficial
and positively impacted several key issues. Tax issues are specialized and LARAC
decided that the membership was best served by handling tax issues we encounter
through adhoc committees comprised of those that have specific expertise in the
issue.
FEDERAL LEGISLATION
1. FERC
RM07-10 Transparency Provisions
FERC's NOPR proposes
that FERC order intrastate pipelines post daily capacities and volumes flowing
through their major receipt and delivery points and mainline segments, requiring
buyers and sellers to report numbers and volumes of relevant transactions to FERC.
A collection of groups requested and received an extension to the comment period
deadline; the deadline for comments is now July 11, 2007.
2. Dept.
Homeland Security 6 CFR Part 27 [DHS-2006-0073]
GPA filed comments on May 9, 2007, that were limited by rule to only "Appendix
A," the Screening Threshold Quantity (STQ) of Chemicals of Interest. GPA
concurred with the API in its recommendations.
3. Survey
of Natural Gas Processing Plants
GPA filed comments on April 2, 2007,
that addressed the data requested in the forms proposed by DOE-EIA. In general,
the GPA recommended that:
- Only the operator of a gas plant should file the
data form.
- EIA point of contact should be a management office and not a
field site.
- The pre-emergency form should be deleted.
- Post-emergency
reporting should be limited to not more than once per week.
STATE
ADVOCACY - TEXAS
Texas Gas Gathering Legislation
- HB 1920
A number of GPA's Texas Gas Gathering Task
Force members, in conjunction with the Texas Pipeline Association, are to be congratulated
for their outstanding efforts in seeing HB 1920 through to a successful conclusion.
Substitute HB 1920 (the so-called "LUG" Bill" i.e., lost
and unaccounted for gas) sponsored by Rep. Jim Keffers was passed 31 to 0 by the
State Senate on May 23, 2007, and has been passed into law without further amendment
with an effective date of Sept. 1, 2007.
Industry believes the passed
legislation is acceptable and is a great improvement from the original filed HB
1920, which spawned from the Apache v. Dynegy Midstream Services and Versado lawsuit.
Learn more here.
HB 3273
This legislation was sponsored by the Railroad Commission in order to obtain statutory
authority of a number of the recommendations of last year's Gas Gathering Advisory
Panel. The midstream industry, including Texas Pipeline Association, supported
this bill, which was passed and signed into law effective Sept. 1, 2007.
Apache v. Dynegy Midstream Services and Versado
(now Targa)
In March, GPA's Board of Directors unanimously approved
filing an Amicus Curiae brief with the Texas Supreme Court to point out how the
Appellate Court's decision may adversely affect the historic understanding and
interpretation of "percent of proceeds" contracts in the midstream industry.
The brief was filed on May 22, 2007. Copies
of the brief are available for those interested in the argument GPA presented.
A decision by the Texas Supreme Court on whether it will take the case is anticipated
within the next month or so.
Eminent Domain
Bills of Texas Rep. King
None of Representative King's House bills
made it to a vote in the House in his attempt to have eminent domain proceedings
by common carrier pipelines include evidence and valuation findings on the diminution
in the market value of any of the property owner's land that is not condemned
but is damaged by the condemnation. A substitute of his HB 1659 passed the House
on May 4 but never made it out of the Senate State Affairs Committee.
STATE ADVOCACY - KANSAS
SB 325 has passed the Kansas
Legislature amending existing K.S.A. Section 55-1,101 by expanding the existing
definition of "gas gathering services." Existing K.S.A. Section 65-105a
was also amended by SB 325 to state that the term "public utility" "shall
not include any gas gathering system." A new Section 3 was added that authorizes
the Commission to review disputes between a gas gatherer and a party with an existing
tap or requesting a new tap on a gathering system.
STATE ADVOCACY
- COLORADO
HB 1180: Oil & Gas
Measurement
This bill was objectionable as proposed by NARO and introduced
in the House, however, amendments were added to ensure that any oil and gas measurement
rules adopted must be consistent with standards established by GPA, API, AGA or
ASTM. Midstream companies accepted the bill as amended, and it was passed and
signed into law.
HB 1341: COGCC
Structure
The make-up of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission was
increased from seven to nine members. While the previous commission structure
required five members with oil and gas background, the new structure only calls
for three oil and gas members. The bill was amended to eliminate more onerous
language but still was a major concern to industry when passed and signed into
law.
Click for more information on the State
Advocacy efforts mentioned above.
GPA ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH & SAFETY UPDATES
The EHS Committee officially adopted a charter
to provide structure and guidance to their ongoing activities. View
the charter.
Environmental Subcommittee Updates
The subcommittee met for full day in Houston in late April. The Environmental
Subcommittee maintains a tracking document for regulatory activities at the federal
and state levels. Notable issues include: Issue 1 - RICE MACT; Issue 2 - Area
Source Dehy MACT; Issue 3 - Consolidated Engine Rules; Issue 6 - Climate Change
Legislation; Issue 8 - SPCC Proposed Rulemaking; Issue 10 - TCEQ DFW & E TX
Non-Attainment Rulemaking.
View the
issue summary providing more information. The next Environmental Subcommittee
meeting is scheduled for Sept. 12, 2007, at the EnCana Oil and Gas offices in
Dallas.
New Engine Rulemaking Work Group Formed
Due to multiple new rules being proposed and promulgated for IC engines, the Environmental
Subcommittee has formed a work group that will focus on engine-related rulemaking
activities and compliance challenges of those rules. This group is currently focusing
on the East Texas engine rulemaking activity. They may also address engine related
rules such as RICE MACT, the consolidated engine rule proposal (NSPS & NESHAP),
and CAM for engines. Scott Wallace
(Devon) is leading the group. Members wishing to participate on this work group
can contact Scott Wallace, (405) 228-8397.
Safety
Subcommittee Updates
On May 8, 2007, GPA made formal comments to the Office
of Homeland Security concerning Appendix A of the Interim final rule for Chemical
Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards. Appendix A will be finalized in the next few
weeks and compliance deadlines must be met within 60 days. Access to information
for completing the CSAT - Top Screen information as required can be found on the
Homeland Security web site. A conference call was held on June 6 to discuss these
compliance issues.
OSHA issued a notice of proposed
rulemaking on May 17 proposing the revision of the standard covering Personal
Protective Equipment. Comments are due July 16, 2007. There are two main actions
in this revision:
- Requires that PPE be constructed in accordance with "good
design standards".
- Proposes to delete two paragraphs in section 1910.94
on ventilation and 1910.252 on welding, cutting, and brazing.
2008
GPA CONVENTION NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES
The Program Committee decided
on a theme for the 87th Annual GPA Convention at their meeting last week: "Shaping
Our Role in the Natural Gas Industry." The convention will be held at the
Gaylord Texan, Grapevine (Dallas), Texas, March 2-5, 2008. General information
is available now on the GPA website,
and comprehensive convention-related materials will be sent in November.
Convention Hospitalities & Sponsorships
The convention presents a number of opportunities for midstream companies to market
their companies and products, so please keep that in mind when budgeting for next
year. One option to put your company name before hundreds of industry contacts
is through hospitality space, which depending on your company's needs, can host
anywhere from small groups of 20-30 people, all the way up to 1,000. Hospitality
space is just one option for participation. Other opportunities include golf ($1,000),
sporting clays ($500) and GPSA Tuesday night party sponsorships ($325). We encourage
you to "think outside of the box" when considering company participation.
Contact Christine Simpson for
more information.
GPA to Offer "Gas Processing
101" Course
The GPA Annual Program Committee has teamed up with the
Educational Initiative Task Force to host a course that will teach the basics
of gas processing. The course will be a great opportunity for those new to the
industry to learn what it may have taken their predecessors years to pick up on
their own. The class will be offered Sunday, March 2, during the Sunday afternoon
training session of the 87th Annual Convention. More details will be communicated
in the coming months.
RECOGNITION
Ron Brunner
Receives Award of Excellence from ASTM
Ron Brunner, GPA Director of Technical
Services, was recently presented with an award for excellence for his years of
tireless work on Subcommittee H of ASTM's Petroleum Products and Lubricants Committee,
Committee D02. Ron has served as Secretary of the subcommittee since January 2004,
and we extend our congratulations to him for being honored with this award.
If you know a GPA or GPSA member who deserves recognition, please send an
e-mail to Johnny Dreyer.
DID YOU KNOW … ?
All committee meetings are
open to the public. If you find a committee meeting that strikes interest in your
area of expertise, feel free to sit in on the meeting. If you would like to join
that committee, there are numerous ways to join. The most common, and simple,
way to join a committee is to ask that your company's official representative
write a letter to GPA staff requesting that you be added to the committee roster.
Once you are a part of that committee, you would of course be expected to attend
and participate in the committees activities as much as possible. For more information
on what committees the GPA has, see our
web site and click on the Committees link.
REMINDERS &
UPCOMING EVENTS
The "Call for Papers"
deadline has been extended to July 15, 2007. To be considered
for presentation at the 2008 GPA Annual Convention, we request that interested
parties provide a title and 200-250 word abstract by this date. Learn
more about submitting a paper.
The OSU Okmulgee
Natural Gas Compression Program is continually searching
for equipment donations from industry partners, which is used to train students
going through the program. View the program's Wish
List that has been given to GPA.
Some estimates show that approximately
30 percent of the workforce in the gas processing industry
will be lost to retirement by 2009. The GPA/GPSA Career
Center is a great resource that can help bring new talent into your companies.
July is the last month to take advantage of our Career Center special. A single
job posted for 30 days at any time in July costs only $100 for members and $200
for non-members. Go to http://careers.gasprocessors.com/hr,
login (or register if you've never used the site before) and post your job using
the appropriate promotional code. Members use MJJ07MEM, and non-members use MJJ07NON.
Our goal is to make the Career Center the go-to resource for filling and finding
jobs in the midstream industry.
Upcoming Events
Calendar
July
11 - GPAC/SPE/CHOA/CIM Joint Stampede Breakfast,
7:30 -10:30 a.m.
18-19 - Chapter Leadership Meeting, Sandia Resort, Albuquerque,
NM
23-27 - GPA 34th Annual School of Gas Chromatography
September
12 - GPA Environmental Subcommittee Meeting, Dallas, Texas
19-20 - Research
SG1, Tulsa, Okla.
20 - 16th Annual North Texas GPA Shrimp Boil, 5:30 - 8:30
p.m. (rain or shine), Venetian Terrace, Las Colinas, Texas
26-28 - Europe
GPA Conference, Bonn, Germany
October
1-2 - Research SG2,
Fontainebleau, France
3 - Rocky Mountain GPA Annual Meeting and Luncheon,
Grand Hyatt, Denver, Colo.
3-4 - North Texas GPA Sponsored Red River Conference
4 - Rocky Mountain GPA Sporting Clays, Kiowa Creek Sporting Club
4 - GPAC
Q3 Luncheon, Chamber of Commerce, Calgary
16 - Houston GPA Annual Meeting
and Golf Tournament, Kingwood Country Club, Kingwood, TX
18-19 - GPA/GPSA
Fall Board Meetings - Annual Program Committee, EHS Committee and LARAC also meet.
Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, Dallas (Irving), TX
November
8 - North Texas GPA Annual Meeting, Ellison Miles Geotechnology Institute, Brookhaven
College, Dallas, Texas
8 - Rocky Mountain GPA Chapter Meeting
22 - Europe
GPA Conference, London, United Kingdom
December
5 - GPAC Q4
Meeting (half-day), Metropolitan Centre
For more information, check out our
Calendar of Events on the GPA web site.
If
you have questions about this or any other GPA service/publication, please email
gpa@gasprocessors.com or call (918) 493-3872. |
