One of the small but satisfying administrative tasks I've had as pipeline editor at Oil & Gas Journal is providing the US Department of Commerce with data for its annual 'Statistical Abstract of the United States.' It felt good be part of an organization trusted enough to provide this information and also to know that at least one small piece of OGJ's annual Pipeline Economics report would be available to the larger world. The final satisfaction each year would come when a copy of the finished book arrived in the mail. Aside from information on the characteristics of petroleum pipelines, each new edition contained data regarding national health expenditures, criminal victimizations an...