Overview of Upstream
Upstream is one of the three major sectors of the oil and gas business, which also includes Midstream (transportation and storage) and Downstream (refining and marketing). The upstream sector of the petroleum industry is also referred to as exploration and production (E&P). Upstream oil and gas involves looking for oil and natural gas deposits and taking measures to extract these resources from the earth for commercial sale. Once producing areas are located, E&P companies employ various technologies and strategies to drill into the earth, extract crude oil and/or natural gas from the ground, and prepare it for transportation via pipeline, truck, or train to a refinery or processing plant.
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BlogDecember 26, 2019 By Inspector Frank
I once worked with a chief inspector who refused to hire anyone who had any National Board inspection certifications. “Why?”, you might ask. I had the same question, and his response was “Because anyone with National Board is gunning for my...
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BlogDecember 18, 2019 By Jeremiah Wooten at Inspectioneering, LLC.
At the end of every year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) releases its annual list of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations for the fiscal year. Although the list rarely sees...
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BlogOctober 31, 2019 By Inspector Frank
Critical things often get missed in facilities but are these things being owned and fixed? We get good at reactively solving problems as they appear, but are we proactively working towards examining and fixing the potential larger issues?
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BlogAugust 29, 2019 By Inspector Frank
Just because you have a technical expert does not mean they will be an expert at managing people. Like any skill set, it takes training, time, and mentoring to become a good personnel manager.
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BlogJune 27, 2019 By Inspector Frank
This is the first article in a new column. In each article, the author will share technical, thought-provoking, and sometimes humorous or emotional experiences garnered in a career that spans over 20 years inside the gates of facilities.
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BlogApril 18, 2019 By Molly Beckel at TransCanada
Young asset integrity management professionals need effective tools to create a sustainable future. YPAC surveyed members to establish a baseline measurement of the effectiveness of their professional development and to evaluate perceived gaps.
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BlogJanuary 9, 2019 By John Reynolds at Intertek
The 2019 API Inspection and Mechanical Integrity Summit will be kicking off later this month in Galveston, TX. This four-day event will begin with 14 high level training courses offered Monday, January 28th, and then a top notch conference and...
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BlogDecember 28, 2018 By Jeremiah Wooten at Inspectioneering, LLC.
At the end of every year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) releases its annual list of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations for the fiscal year. Although the list rarely sees...
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November/December 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy Efrain Rios at Fortress Oil & Gas, LLC
This article describes how an international oil and gas company built an inspection data management program for its U.S. operations yielding improved confidence in decision-making information, cost savings through increased efficiency, and an...
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July/August 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy Philip Buchan at Cyberhawk
The benefits and advantages of drone inspection over other methods have made this technology a viable solution in industry. As utilization of drone technology continues to grow and expand, it’s important to not only understand what they can do but...
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March/April 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy Cesar Espinoza at PinnacleART, and Sudhakar Mahajanam at PinnacleART
As RBI continues to proliferate across industry, there are still those that are reluctant to transition from a time-based to risk-based inspection approach - especially in the upstream oil & gas business. These 4 benefits might help to lessen the...
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January/February 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy Neil Burns at Stress Engineering Services
The actions you take immediately after a failure are critical in understanding the cause and appropriate steps to remedy the problem. However, the wrong moves might prevent you from getting the answers you need.
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BlogDecember 29, 2017 By Jeremiah Wooten at Inspectioneering, LLC., and Josh Means at Inspectioneering, LLC
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released its annual list of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations. In 2017 Fall Protection, Hazard Communication, and Scaffolding once again...
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January/February 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy Abdelmounam Sherik at Saudi Aramco Research and Development Center, Mark Rosa, PE at Harvard Business School, and Abderrazak Traidia at Saudi Aramco Research and Development Center
This article summarizes a comprehensive survey conducted by the Research & Development Center (R&DC) of Saudi Aramco to understand top corrosion damage mechanisms experienced by its operating onshore surface facilities.
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January/February 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy Edwin A. Merrick, PE at The Augustus Group
This article presents a perspective on the human factor and emphasizes the value of using risk tools at all levels in the organization to help provide management focus during times of severe economic pressure.
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BlogJanuary 3, 2017 By Jeremiah Wooten at Inspectioneering, LLC.
At the end of every year, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) releases a list of the 10 most frequently cited safety and health violations for the fiscal year, comprised from approximately 32,000...
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July/August 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Neil Ferguson at Hydratight
Joint integrity management remains at the top of many operators’ priority list. The discipline considers risk and drives safety to ensure we learn necessary lessons from past catastrophic failures, such as the Piper Alpha explosion in 1988,...
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March/April 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Bruce A. Pellegrino at Sensor Networks, Inc., Dr. James N. Barshinger at Sensor Networks, Inc., and Michael Nugent at AEIS, LLC
While there are many methods for measuring equipment wall thickness, a predominant method used in the O&G and power generation industries is portable ultrasonic equipment. Ultrasonic testing is non-intrusive because it is applied to the outside of a...
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January/February 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering Journal
The enormous decline in oil prices over the past 14 months has definitely slowed projects and changed the energy and production landscape. Despite this, refineries, petrochemical plants, and chemical facilities must continue to run safely,...
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November/December 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy David A. Hunter at Neptune Research, Inc.
This study provides valuable information for offshore pipeline operators curious about how composite repair systems could be utilized with their assets.
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September/October 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Jeremiah Wooten at Inspectioneering, LLC.
Inspectioneering recently had the opportunity to sit down with Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton and discuss the evolution of reliability in the oil and gas industry.
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BlogAugust 31, 2015 By Jeremiah Wooten at Inspectioneering, LLC.
Inspectioneering recently had the opportunity to speak with Tom Redlinger about QA/QC practices in the O&G business and what companies can do to create programs that are both effective and sustainable. We hope you find the exchange as interesting as...
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March/April 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Andy Kates at Versa Integrity Group
Rope access allows for a wide variety of work to be performed at high elevations or other hard to reach areas without the use of scaffolding or heavy equipment. It has evolved from techniques used in rock climbing and caving to become an extremely...
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March/April 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Connie LaMorte at EWI, and Jon Jennings at EWI
Weld inspection using lasers is not new, but doing it 75 meters inside a pipe or streaming inspection data wirelessly is new. As laser technology has improved, more industries such as oil & gas are beginning to require laser inspection as part of...
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March/April 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Nick Harwood at Aetos Group, and Aaron Cook at Aetos Group
The ability to gain this unique perspective has recently become easier and safer with today’s technological advancements. This new technology comes in the form of a miniature flying machine, better known as a drone or small Unmanned Aerial System...
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March/April 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Paolo Torrado at Engineering and Inspection Services, LLC.
An issue that arises frequently in the oil and gas industry is poor or missing documentation of pressure vessels. It is common in the industry to repurpose old equipment, bring equipment back into operation after a long period of time out of...
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January/February 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Fred Schenkelberg at FMS Reliability
Reliability engineering tools and concepts can be used to avoid or delay failures, thus increasing product service life. Design or maintenance teams use reliability engineering techniques to identify failures and their causes.
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January/February 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering Journal
Challenges abounded in 2014 for the process industries, and it does not look like they will let up soon. But then again, that’s life, as they say. After 40 years in the industry the old adages still ring true, “there is nothing new under the...
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Online Article
Inspectioneering recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Ray Konet, the Fixed Equipment Reliability Director at Valero Energy, and who also happens to be the Chairman of the Planning Committee for the 2015 API Inspection Summit.
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Online Article
Though new regulations have changed the way offshore companies operate, the need to make safety part of an enterprise sustainability management strategy has never been more important. As accountability moves higher up the chain of command, operators...
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Online Article
Though new regulations have changed the way offshore companies operate, the need to make safety part of an enterprise sustainability management strategy has never been more important.
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January/February 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy Ana Benz at IRISNDT
In this article you will find the failure investigations of six 0.094 inch thick carbon steel vessels. These vessels were in service in natural gas well facilities; some functioned as dryers and were subjected to cyclic loads. Metallographic tests,...
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May/June 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering Journal
Development of shale requires the utilization of numerous types of fixed equipment. Due to the high cost and risk associated with hydrocarbon production and processing, E&Ps must continue to manage cost-effective and safe fixed equipment programs....
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Sponsored Video Published on August 18, 201530-minute interview on the evolution of reliability and its role within the energy and process industries with Ryan Sitton, Texas Railroad Commissioner.
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NewsU.S. Energy Information Administrations, July 3, 2019
Overall energy consumption in the United States reached a record high in 2018, driven by increases in petroleum and natural gas consumption.
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NewsReuters, May 28, 2019
Occidental's success post-Anadarko acquisition will depend on how quickly it can divest some of Anadarko’s assets and optimize and integrate the assets it keeps.
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NewsWorleyParsons, April 29, 2019
WorleyParsons has officially completed its US$3.2 billion acquisition of Jacobs ECR, and adopted ‘Worley’ as its new brand.
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NewsHalliburton Company, February 21, 2019
Halliburton Company recently announced it will build the first oilfield chemical manufacturing reaction plant in Saudi Arabia.
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Partner Content
ASTM International in partnership with the Codes and Standards Training Institute (CASTI), launched an eLearning course to provide individuals with a general knowledge relating to maintenance, inspection, repair, and alteration of pressure vessels...
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NewsOccupational Safety and Health Administration, February 12, 2016
A new hazard alert from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health identifies health and safety risks to oil and gas industry workers who manually gauge or sample fluids on...
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