by Mark Gorman Mark Gorman

Nominations Open for Pipeline Leadership Award

North American Oil & Gas Pipelines is now accepting nominations for the Pipeline Leadership Award. The award was created to recognize a distinguished individual, project or company for excellence in leadership and innovation in the oil and gas pipeline industry. The nomination deadline is Aug. 1, 2016.

Winners will be featured in the November 2016 issue of North American Oil & Gas Pipelines and officially honored at the Pipeline Leadership Conference, Nov. 15-16, in Denver, Colorado.

The Pipeline Leadership Award honors leadership initiatives and advances in the construction, operation and maintenance of oil and gas pipelines, including innovations in the construction process, design, procurement, contract administration, management, labor relations, training and safety that improve the global pipeline industry. The Pipeline Leadership Award has also recognized projects for their innovative concepts and methods.

The Pipeline Leadership Award is selected from a pool of nominations obtained through the website and the Pipeline Leadership Conference Program Committee. Nominations are open to anyone wishing to participate. The Program Committee invites Pipeline Leadership Award nominations from all sectors of the oil and gas pipeline industry. A person, an organization or a combination of people and organizations in the form of a specific project or initiative can be recognized for their leadership and innovation.

Pipeline industry members are encouraged to nominate successful innovations by their colleagues, clients, consultants, contractors, suppliers, trades persons and by themselves. Self-nominations are also encouraged, since many subjects are best understood and presented by their creator.

To be considered, please visit PLConference.com to complete the nomination form prior to the submission deadline, Aug. 1.

For more information about the Pipeline Leadership Award and to submit a nomination, please visit plconference.com/pipeline-leadership-award-nomination.

If you have any questions, please contact Managing Editor Brad Kramer at bkramer@benjaminmedia.com or call (330) 315-2104.

About the Pipeline Leadership Conference

The Pipeline Leadership Conference is a new event directed toward top executives involved with building and operating oil and gas pipelines throughout North America. The event will bring together thought leaders to discuss innovative approaches and best practices for managing new construction, ensuring safety, improving efficiency and overcoming challenges from inside and outside the industry, including executives from pipeline operating companies, utilities, contractors, engineering firms, field service providers and other leaders involved with the pipeline industry. The Pipeline Leadership Conference is organized by North American Oil & Gas Pipelines and Benjamin Media, in partnership with Continuum Advisory Group and in cooperation with the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.

by Mark Gorman Mark Gorman

Second Annual Pipeline Leadership Conference Returns to Denver, Nov. 15-16

BRECKSVILLE, OHIO, May 31, 2016—The second annual Pipeline Leadership Conference will be Nov. 15-16, 2016, at the University of Denver, in Denver, Colorado. Join top executives from oil and gas pipeline operators, utility companies, contracting firms, engineers and other industry leaders for a two-day conference focused on driving transformation and innovation in the pipeline industry through people, process and practice.

The Pipeline Leadership Conference is organized by North American Oil & Gas Pipelines and Benjamin Media Inc., in partnership with Continuum Capital and in cooperation with the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.

The Pipeline Leadership Conference will bring together thought leaders involved with building and operating oil and gas pipelines and distribution systems throughout North America to discuss innovative approaches and best practices for managing new construction, ensuring safety, improving efficiency and overcoming challenges from inside and outside the industry.

The agenda will feature four impactful Leadership Panel sessions, as well as a series of Pipeline Innovations Speakers, who will present a wide range of topics geared toward overcoming operational challenges, maintaining safety, promoting new methodologies and recruiting the next generation of Pipeline Leaders.

Benjamin Media will provide CEUs to all attendees upon successful completion of the conference.

Registration Discounts:
• Register before Oct. 2 and receive a $100 discount.
• Receive an additional $100 discount if you are a member of any of the supporting associations listed below.

Supporting Associations:
• Clarion Technical Conferences
• Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA)
• Construction Labor Market Analyzer (CLMA)
• Construction Users Roundtable (CURT)
• Distribution Contractors Association (DCA)
• International Pipe Line & Offshore Contractors Association (IPLOCA)
• Lean Construction Institute (LCI)
• Pipe Line Contractors Associate (PLCA)
• Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada (PLCAC)
• Power and Communication Contractors Association (PCCA)

Event Sponsors:
• PipeLine Machinery International (PLM Cat)
• Michels Corporation
• Blackeagle Energy Services
• Miller Pipeline
• Minnesota Limited
• John Deere

For registration questions, contact Vicki Miner at vminer@benjaminmedia.com. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Brittany Maurer at bmaurer@benjaminmedia.com or call (330) 467-7588. Visit www.plconference.com for more information.

About Continuum
Continuum Capital is an investment banking and management consulting firm exclusively serving the energy and utility construction industry to ensure that strategies are in place to achieve capital construction success. Our executive team is recognized for their expertise by industry associations and clients in the energy, overhead and underground utility, and infrastructure markets. We advise the senior leaders of firms in North and South America, and around the globe. Our clients include the largest global energy and utility firms as well as modest sized organizations seeking transformation of their capital design and construction efforts. We also consult and provide investment banking services to innovative and leading contractors, engineering firms, EPC firms and building product manufacturers that serve these owners. At Continuum Capital, we treat our clients as partners and serve the leaders of innovative firms.

About North American Oil & Gas Pipelines
North American Oil & Gas Pipelines covers the business of oil and gas pipeline construction and maintenance, engaging owners, operators, contractors and service providers with cutting-edge editorial content via multimedia channels. Every month in its print edition, North American Oil & Gas Pipelines delivers the latest news and market developments that are shaping the industry, from the shale oil and gas development to the Canadian oil sands, including the most efficient methods of pipeline installation, the latest in integrity management and managerial strategies that enhance the company bottom line.

by Mark Gorman Mark Gorman

Land Acquisition and Management

What one Land Manager says is the #1 gripe among landowners.

One of the earliest stages of any pipeline project is the acquisition of a right of way, and in the past seven years that process has received more news coverage thanks in part to the Keystone XL project. What has happened at TransCanada since Keystone has drawn on far longer than anyone could have imagined, is the company is revamping the way it handles land acquisition and management for projects. Andrew Craig, land manager for the Keystone projects, sees the changes as industry-wide.

When Craig started in the industry, a company would bring in a crew to deal with the acquisition work. This entailed figuring out who was impacted along the right of way, visiting those landowners, discussing their concerns, negotiating and then writing checks. As construction commenced, a company would then transition to a construction support team, which oftentimes had a different set of employees. In that phase, the land agent would work to resolve property-related issues and 14- to 16-hour workdays are typical, Craig explains. Then in post construction, the team would consist of the “cream of the crop” from the construction phase to stick around about one year during restoration to continue working with landowners.

What Craig has found is that the No. 1 gripe land owners have is turnover. They do not want to see a new face when there is a problem, a question or a concern. According to Craig there is a direct correlation between unhappy landowners who perceive that they are being misled or mistreated, and success on future projects. Read the complete story from North American Oil & Gas Pipelines here.

Attend the Pipeline Leadership Conference Nov. 4-5 at the University of Denver and learn more about the challenges involved with managing land acquisition and how to resolve them from the top experts in the oil and gas pipeline industry, including Andrew Craig, Land Manager for Keystone XL, TransCanada Corp.; Patrick Fitzgerald, Distinguished Visiting Faculty — Energy Land Management Certificate Program, Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate & Construction Management, University of Denver; Evan Randall, Partner, Holland & Hart; and Ralph Cantafio, President and Managing Shareholder, Cantafio Eddington.

To view the Pipeline Leadership Conference agenda, click here.