Pipeline Innovations TechTalk

This episode examines severe sour service, one of the pipeline industry's most technically demanding challenges. Pipeline & Gas Journal sat down with Calum MacLean, Head of Welding Engineering, and Tom Feteris, Offshore Director, both of CRC Evans, to discuss why rising hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) concentrations, deeper water and harsher operating environments are pushing operators toward more experienced engineering partners. The conversation covers what separates severe sour projects from conventional pipeline construction, including metallurgy, hydrogen effects and long-term material integrity, and why success depends on early engineering engagement rather than a single qualified welding procedure.

In this episode, we sat down with Jim Welty, President of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), to unpack the infrastructure gap holding back the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. Welty explains why Pennsylvania producers face steep price discounts despite leading the nation in natural gas output, and why the Northeast has lagged behind the South Central U.S. in pipeline buildout even as Gulf Coast LNG demand drives new capacity elsewhere.

In this episode, Laurie Knape (Program Manager, API Pipeline Safety Management System Assessments), Jason O'Flaherty (Risk Analyst, Marathon Petroleum) and David Pearce (Manager of Finance and Operations, Parker Stockstill Construction) examine how safety management systems (SMS) function across the pipeline sector. The discussion spans an operator's experience scaling an SMS program, the distinct challenges small and mid-size contractors face in adopting these frameworks and methods for measuring an SMS's impact on safety and operational discipline. Guests also address aligning culture and expectations across operators, contractors and subcontractors, and how industry assessment tools can drive greater consistency sector-wide.

In this episode, Rob McGreevy, CPO of AVEVA, discusses how AI and digital twins are reshaping midstream pipeline operations, the shift from scheduled to predictive maintenance and the real-time data architecture—sensors, edge computing, SCADA and cloud platforms—needed to make it all work.

Pipeline right-of-way management has evolved far beyond routine vegetation clearing. In this episode of Pipeline Innovations Tech Talk, we sit down with Brent Oberlink, owner of Lanracorp, to discuss how integrated vegetation management (IVM) is helping operators improve safety, reduce long-term maintenance costs and strengthen pipeline integrity. The conversation explores the growing importance of proactive rights-of-way (ROW) management, the impact of extreme weather on maintenance strategies, and why vegetation management plays a critical role in inspections, emergency response and long-term asset reliability.