On September 30, 2015, PHMSA announced an indefinite delayed enforcement of proposed amendments to 49 CFR 192.305. Federal Registry Volume 80 Page 58633 states: "The effective date of the amendment to 49 CFR 192.305, published at 80 FR 12779, March 11, 2015, is delayed indefinitely. PHMSA will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing a new effective date." However, the proposed rulemaking for 49 CFR 195.204 became effective on October 1, 2015 as expected.

 

PHMSA based this decision on several request for reconsideration received from four different collective sources: the American Public Gas Association (APGA), the American Gas Association (AGA), the Interstate Natural Gas Association (INGAA), and the National Association of Pipeline

Safety Representatives (NAPSR). Between the four sources, one main area for reconsideration that was brought before PHMSA was the Responsibility to Conduct Construction Inspections, 49 CFR 192.305.

To read the full Federal Registry, click here.

To view 49 CFR 192.305, click here.

The proposed Keystone XL Pipeline Project will transport crude oil from Hardistry, Alberta, Canada to Steel City, Nebraska. With such a large project, there are numerous submittals and approvals that must occur long before construction can begin.

Currently, PHMSA (the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration) issued fifty-seven conditions to approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline Project. Although the Keystone XL Pipeline will be a new construction pipeline, most of the PHMSA conditions require compliance with the Operator Qualification Final Ruling (49 CFR 195), development of a Construction OQ Program in alignment with 49 CFR 195.501, and several recommended practices agencies - such as American Petroleum Institute (API), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), and NACE International.

However, some of the PHMSA conditions establish requirements exceeding the current regulations, codes, or recommended best practices. For example, Condition 23 Assessment of Test Failures requires a root cause failure analysis followed by a report to PHMSA for any pipe failure occurring during the pre-in-service hydrostatic test. However, 49 CFR 195 does not require operators to do either. Therefore, the Keystone XL Pipeline Project will actually exceed current safety requirements.

In 1973, OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) began utilizing "oil diplomacy". Oil diplomacy provided incremental sanctions for reduced purchasing quantities of oil by 5% per month to any nation who supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War. The sanctions would remain in place until the allies of Israel removed their presence and acknowledged the rights of Palestine. Additionally, OPEC declared that OPEC members would begin establishing petroleum prices for their exports, which had previously been established by the oil companies.

Results of the OPEC embargo:

Conditions in the United States prior to the OPEC embargo: