Christmas on the Right of Way
We’re coming to the end of another strong year in the pipeline industry, and for this magazine our fifth year of publication. As the holidays ride in behind a trail of reindeer tracks, I’d like to take a moment to thank you, readers, for the support you’ve given North American Oil & Gas Pipelines over the years. Without you, we wouldn’t be here.
Since 2008, when we published a lone issue as supplement to our sister magazine, Trenchless Technology, we have grown to a monthly magazine with more than 12,500 readers, almost 5,000 subscribers to our biweekly e-newsletters and a growing number of Twitter followers (@NAOGP1). And next year, we’ll be expanding even more, as we seek to better reach your mobile device.
We know that your projects keep you on the move. Like the enterprise software providers we cover in this issue’s cover story (p. 18), Benjamin Media is developing apps for all of its publications. Available for the Apple iPad, the North American Oil & Gas Pipelines app will enhance your digital reading experience and make it easier for readers to access each issue while on the go. Look for it in early 2014.
We began 2013 with the hope of a unified North American energy strategy being developed and the expectation that the Keystone XL pipeline would be approved. Well, we’re still waiting. But that doesn’t mean the oil and gas pipeline industry is waiting around. Shale oil and gas has continued to boom, driving the construction of gathering pipelines and processing facilities that will get those products to market domestically and overseas.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released a projection on Dec. 16 that shows by 2016 U.S. crude oil production will approach the historical highwater mark of 9.6 million barrels per day last achieved in 1970, while natural gas production will reach 37.6 trillion cubic feet by 2040. These developments will greatly increase the potential for exporting oil and gas products.
Meanwhile, Canada is looking for ways to expand exports of its crude production from the oil sands in Alberta to destinations outside of North America, primarily Asia.
The continued discovery and development of these energy resources will only continue. If the Keystone XL doesn’t get built, it won’t stop the pipeline industry from building other pipelines to get oil and gas to refining facilities and on to consumers. The best gift pipeliners could receive now is the one that will make 2014 another great year for the industry. Hopefully, that will include improved regulatory policies to streamline the approval process for oil and gas pipeline projects. We can hope, can’t we?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Brad Kramer
Managing Editor
bkramer@benjaminmedia.com
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