Weekly Update: The Bleeding Edge

The introduction of methane pricing in the US Inflation Reduction Act

On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed H.R. 5376, a budget reconciliation measure also referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). With IRA, the United States aims to reduce GHG emissions between 31% to 44% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels through tax incentives and funding mechanisms. A first-ever federal charge is imposed on the excess methane emissions on designated natural gas and petroleum facilities beginning on January 1, 2024.IRA allocated $369 billion to energy and climate change initiatives; a $1.55 billion budget is going to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide incentives, grants, loans, and rebates for facilities, well operators, and communities to e...

article author information By Andrea Noriega Wandurraga, M.Sc.

Economic Evaluation using Aspen HYSYS

The Aspen Icarus FamilyIntegrated economics is a new feature in Aspen HYSYS® (HYSYS) that enables process engineers to rapidly estimate the relative capital and operating costs in their process modeling studies using Aspen HYSYS. This feature brings the benefits of the Aspen Economic Evaluation prod...

By Samaneh Hajipour, Ph.D. P.Eng.

Storage tank loading schedules at LNG terminals. A dynamic simulation approach

Introduction Rising global gas demand driven mainly by cleaner power production and the availability of new natural gas sources are driving significant growth in the LNG markets. Large natural gas field discoveries on and offshore have prompted several countries to plan liquefied natural gas (LNG) e...

By Ahad Sarraf Shirazi, M.Sc., P. Eng.

Directive 39 Update – New benzene emission limits in Alberta

Earlier in 2013, the Alberta Energy Regulator or AER (previously ERCB) released a revised Directive 39 (Benzene Emissions from Glycol Dehydrators).At this time, these changes do not apply to BC units as regulated by the OGC. The OGC will publish an information letter if they deem that changes are wa...

By Alberto Alva Argaez, Ph.D, MBA

Pipeline Engineering Studies Using Dynamic Simulation

Designing pipeline systems requires consideration of a number of factors, including the distance to be traveled, terrain profiles, the expected volumes to be received and delivered over the pipeline, and the physical properties of the products to flow through the pipe.Dynamic simulation of pipelines...

By Ahad Sarraf Shirazi, M.Sc., P. Eng.

PTAC 2013 Air Issues Forum

On September 26, 2013, Process Ecology attended and presented at the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) Air Issues Forum.According to PTAC, the forum is the place to learn more about:Emerging air emission issues in the UOG sector,Regulatory perspectives, programs, and what they are meant to...

By James Holoboff, M.Sc., P. Eng.

Estimating ethylene glycol injection rate for hydrate inhibition

In refrigeration and choke plants, gas is cooled to low temperatures (usually between -10 C and -30 C), to meet hydrocarbon dewpoint specifications and/or recover valuable liquids. Ethylene glycol is typically injected in the facilities to ensure that hydrates do not form at these low temperatures.P...