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64-659: Buncefield oil depot is operated by Hertfordshire Oil Storage Ltd (HOSL) and officially known as the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal. It is an oil depot located on the edge of Hemel Hempstead to the north of London in the United Kingdom (UK). In December 2005 a series of explosions on the site caused the largest fire in Europe since World War II . The site was built in 1968 by George Wimpey for BP and Shell-Mex . A pipeline

128-686: A refinery which are stored in the terminal are in their final form suitable for delivery to customers. Blending of products may be undertaken, and additives may be injected into products, but there is usually no manufacturing plant on site. Modern terminals have a high degree of site automation. Marine oil terminals have jetties to provide a deep water mooring for tankers. Jetties have loading/unloading arms for transferring cargo to/from ship to shore. Facilities for vapor recovery may be provided. Some oil terminals receive crude oil production from offshore installations. Crude oil received by pipeline may have been ‘spiked’ with natural gas liquids (NGL), and

192-425: A depth of about 3 to 6 feet (0.91 to 1.83 m). To protect pipes from impact , abrasion , and corrosion , a variety of methods are used. These can include wood lagging (wood slats), concrete coating, rockshield, high-density polyethylene , imported sand padding, sacrificial cathodes and padding machines. Crude oil contains varying amounts of paraffin wax and in colder climates wax buildup may occur within

256-589: A distinction is made between a "flowline" and a pipeline. The former is an intrafield pipeline, in the sense that it is used to connect subsea wellheads , manifolds and the platform within a particular development field. The latter, sometimes referred to as an "export pipeline", is used to bring the resource to shore. The construction and maintenance of marine pipelines imply logistical challenges that are different from those onland, mainly because of wave and current dynamics, along with other geohazards . In Nigeria oil pipelines get bored by thieves, in 2022, during

320-471: A fuel in oil fields to heat various facilities used by the oil drillers or equipment and trucks used in the oil patch. EG: Propane will convert from a gas to a liquid under light pressure, 100 psi, give or take depending on temperature, and is pumped into cars and trucks at less than 125 psi (860 kPa) at retail stations. Pipelines and rail cars use about double that pressure to pump at 250 psi (1,700 kPa). The distance to ship propane to markets

384-542: A pipeline is currently being constructed from North Dakota to Illinois, commonly known as the Dakota Access Pipeline . As more North American pipelines are built, even more exports of LNG, propane, butane, and other natural gas products occur on all three US coasts. To give insight, North Dakota Bakken region's oil production has grown by 600% from 2007 to 2015. North Dakota oil companies are shipping huge amounts of oil by tanker rail car as they can direct

448-452: A pipeline system are: Since oil and gas pipelines are an important asset of the economic development of almost any country, it has been required either by government regulations or internal policies to ensure the safety of the assets, and the population and environment where these pipelines run. Pipeline companies face government regulation, environmental constraints and social situations. Government regulations may define minimum staff to run

512-501: A pipeline. Often these pipelines are inspected and cleaned using pigging , the practice of using devices known as "pigs" to perform various maintenance operations on a pipeline. The devices are also known as "scrapers" or "Go-devils". "Smart pigs" (also known as "intelligent" or "intelligence" pigs) are used to detect anomalies in the pipe such as dents, metal loss caused by corrosion, cracking or other mechanical damage. These devices are launched from pig-launcher stations and travel through

576-500: A presently rated 250,000 barrels equivalent per day pipeline, it will be expanded to between 1.0 and 1.3 million barrels per day. It will bring western oil to refineries in Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quebec and New York by early 2014. New Brunswick will also refine some of this western Canadian crude and export some crude and refined oil to Europe from its deep water oil ULCC loading port. Although pipelines can be built under

640-449: A problem for pipeline companies. In this case, the detection levels should be under two percent of maximum flow, with a high expectation for location accuracy. Various technologies and strategies have been implemented for monitoring pipelines, from physically walking the lines to satellite surveillance. The most common technology to protect pipelines from occasional leaks is Computational Pipeline Monitoring or CPM. CPM takes information from

704-462: A set of screens or Human Machine Interface , showing the operational conditions of the pipeline. The operator can monitor the hydraulic conditions of the line, as well as send operational commands (open/close valves, turn on/off compressors or pumps, change setpoints, etc.) through the SCADA system to the field. To optimize and secure the operation of these assets, some pipeline companies are using what

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768-427: A vapor space above the product, which breathes in or out as the product is removed or the tank is filled. Some tanks may be fitted with internal heating coils using hot water or steam to keep the contents warm. This reduces the viscosity of the product to ease transfer and pumping. Terminals may also have Horton spheres which are used to store liquefied petroleum gases such as propane and butane (see left foreground of

832-554: Is Total , which owns 60% of the depot, with Texaco owning the remaining 40%, though BP and Shell also make use of its facilities. As the fifth largest oil depot in the UK , it had a capacity of approximately 60 million Imperial gallons (273 million litres) of fuel, although it was not always at capacity. It previously filled 400 tanker lorries every day and handled around 2.37 million tonnes of oil products every year. In March 2008 BP announced it will soon be restarting some operations at

896-649: Is a 525-kilometre (326 mi) slurry pipeline which is planned to transport iron ore from the Minas-Rio mine (producing 26.5 million tonnes per year) to the Port of Açu in Brazil. An existing example is the 85-kilometre (53 mi) Savage River Slurry pipeline in Tasmania , Australia, possibly the world's first when it was built in 1967. It includes a 366-metre (1,201 ft) bridge span at 167 metres (548 ft) above

960-644: Is a TransCanada natural gas line going north across the Niagara region bridges. This gas line carries Marcellus shale gas from Pennsylvania and other tied in methane or natural gas sources into the Canadian province of Ontario. It began operations in the fall of 2012, supplying 16 percent of all the natural gas used in Ontario. This new US-supplied natural gas displaces the natural gas formerly shipped to Ontario from western Canada in Alberta and Manitoba, thus dropping

1024-608: Is an industrial facility for the storage of oil, petroleum and petrochemical products, and from which these products are transported to end users or other storage facilities. An oil terminal typically has a variety of above or below ground tankage; facilities for inter-tank transfer; pumping facilities; loading gantries for filling road tankers or barges; ship loading/unloading equipment at marine terminals; and pipeline connections. Originally, open pits and cubic reservoirs were used for industrial oil storage. The vertical cylindrical steel reservoir  [ ru ] structure

1088-467: Is called "Advanced Pipeline Applications", which are software tools installed on top of the SCADA system, that provide extended functionality to perform leak detection, leak location, batch tracking (liquid lines), pig tracking, composition tracking, predictive modeling, look ahead modeling, and operator training. Pipeline networks are composed of several pieces of equipment that operate together to move products from location to location. The main elements of

1152-425: Is known as live crude. Such oil needs to be processed or stabilised to remove the lighter fractions such as ethane , propane and butane to produce a dead or stabilised crude that is suitable for storage and transport. Such oil terminals may include processing facilities to treat the oil to achieve an oil Reid vapor pressure (RVP) of 10 to 12 psi (70 to 82 kPa). The process facilities include oil heaters to warm

1216-503: Is less efficient to produce and transport due to greater heat losses. Heat transfer oils are generally not used for economic and ecological reasons. The typical annual loss of thermal energy through distribution is around 10%, as seen in Norway's district heating network. District heating pipelines are normally installed underground, with some exceptions. Within the system, heat storage may be installed to even out peak load demands. Heat

1280-445: Is moved through the pipelines by pump stations along the pipeline. Natural gas (and similar gaseous fuels) are pressurized into liquids known as natural gas liquids (NGLs). Natural gas pipelines are constructed of carbon steel . Hydrogen pipeline transport is the transportation of hydrogen through a pipe. Pipelines are one of the safest ways of transporting materials as compared to road or rail, and hence in war, pipelines are often

1344-625: Is much shorter, as thousands of natural-gas processing plants are located in or near oil fields. Many Bakken Basin oil companies in North Dakota, Montana, Manitoba and Saskatchewan gas fields separate the NGLs in the field, allowing the drillers to sell propane directly to small wholesalers, eliminating the large refinery control of product and prices for propane or butane. The most recent major pipeline to start operating in North America

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1408-686: Is odorless unless mixed with a mercaptan odorant where required by a regulating authority. A major ammonia pipeline is the Ukrainian Transammiak line connecting the TogliattiAzot facility in Russia to the exporting Black Sea -port of Odesa . Pipelines have been used for transportation of ethanol in Brazil, and there are several ethanol pipeline projects in Brazil and the United States. The main problems related to

1472-431: Is over 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) long, and is connected to wells tapping an aquifer over 500 metres (1,600 ft) underground. District heating or teleheating systems consist of a network of insulated feed and return pipes which transport heated water, pressurized hot water , or sometimes steam to the customer. While steam is hottest and may be used in industrial processes due to its higher temperature, it

1536-609: Is still in operation. As of 2004 , there are 900 miles (1,400 km) of low pressure hydrogen pipelines in the US and 930 miles (1,500 km) in Europe. Two millennia ago, the ancient Romans made use of large aqueducts to transport water from higher elevations by building the aqueducts in graduated segments that allowed gravity to push the water along until it reached its destination. Hundreds of these were built throughout Europe and elsewhere, and along with flour mills were considered

1600-415: Is stored prior to being discharged into aircraft fuel tanks. Fuel is transported from the depot to the aircraft either by road tanker or via a hydrant system. The storage tanks at an oil terminal may include fixed roof tanks , internal floating roof tanks and external floating roof tanks . Floating roof tanks are generally used for more volatile products to reduce evaporation loss. Fixed roof tanks have

1664-405: Is the most desirable option, but ethanol's affinity for water and solvent properties require the use of a dedicated pipeline, or significant cleanup of existing pipelines. Slurry pipelines are sometimes used to transport coal or ore from mines. The material to be transported is closely mixed with water before being introduced to the pipeline; at the far end, the material must be dried. One example

1728-609: Is transferred into the central heating of the dwellings through heat exchangers at heat substations , without mixing of the fluids in either system. Bars in the Veltins-Arena , a major football ground in Gelsenkirchen , Germany, are interconnected by a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) long beer pipeline. In Randers city in Denmark, the so-called Thor Beer pipeline was operated. Originally, copper pipes ran directly from

1792-528: Is usually known as the "Main Control Room". In this center, all the data related to field measurement is consolidated in one central database. The data is received from multiple RTUs along the pipeline. It is common to find RTUs installed at every station along the pipeline. The SCADA system at the Main Control Room receives all the field data and presents it to the pipeline operator through

1856-744: The FERC and others, reviews proposed pipeline projects in order to comply with the Clean Water Act , the National Environmental Policy Act , other laws and, in some cases, municipal laws. The Biden administration has sought to permit the respective states and tribal groups to appraise and potentially block the proposed projects. Field devices are instrumentation, data gathering units and communication systems. The field instrumentation includes flow, pressure, and temperature gauges/transmitters, and other devices to measure

1920-730: The Transport and General Workers Union , were able to coordinate their industrial action more effectively by being on the same site as one another. In 1990 a further pipeline was completed, linking the site to the Lindsey Oil Refinery in Humberside . Before the fire, which devastated over a quarter of the site, the terminal was the fifth largest oil depot in the UK with pipelines to Humberside, Merseyside and Heathrow and Gatwick airports radiating from it. The terminal operator

1984-573: The BPA area is occupied by facilities of the British Pipeline Agency (BPA), mostly for aviation fuel. HOSL West was the main site in the northern portion of HOSL, and was used for storage of a variety of fuels excluding aviation fuel and kerosene , which are stored at BPA. The fire destroyed most of HOSL West and the BPA area. Oil depot An oil terminal (also called a tank farm , tankfarm , oil installation or oil depot )

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2048-471: The Russian-Ukrainian war, the submarine natural gas pipelines Nord Stream I and II got blasted. In general, pipelines can be classified in three categories depending on purpose: When a pipeline is built, the construction project not only covers the civil engineering work to lay the pipeline and build the pump/compressor stations, it also has to cover all the work related to the installation of

2112-598: The Savage River. Hydrogen pipeline transport is a transportation of hydrogen through a pipe as part of the hydrogen infrastructure . Hydrogen pipeline transport is used to connect the point of hydrogen production or delivery of hydrogen with the point of demand, with transport costs similar to CNG , the technology is proven. Most hydrogen is produced at the place of demand with every 50 to 100 miles (160 km) an industrial production facility. The 1938 Rhine-Ruhr 240-kilometre (150 mi) hydrogen pipeline

2176-533: The US. The distance from the biggest oil patch in North Dakota, in Williston, North Dakota , is only about 85 miles or 137 kilometers to the Canada–US border and Manitoba . Mutual funds and joint ventures are the largest investors in new oil and gas pipelines. In the fall of 2012, the US began exporting propane to Europe, known as LPG, as wholesale prices there are much higher than in North America. Additionally,

2240-554: The United States, 70% of crude oil and petroleum products are shipped by pipeline. (23% are by ship, 4% by truck, and 3% by rail) In Canada for natural gas and petroleum products, 97% are shipped by pipeline. Natural gas (and similar gaseous fuels) are lightly pressurized into liquids known as Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). Small NGL processing facilities can be located in oil fields so the butane and propane liquid under light pressure of 125 pounds per square inch (860 kPa), can be shipped by rail, truck or pipeline. Propane can be used as

2304-447: The above Kowloon oil depot). The design, construction, operation and maintenance of an oil terminal must be in accordance with local, national, regional and international codes, standards, and legal and statutory requirements. Relevant standards include: Maintaining health, safety and environment (HSE) requires operators of a depot to ensure that products are safely stored and handled. There must be no leakages (etc.) which could damage

2368-592: The brewery, but when the brewery moved out of the city in the 1990s, Thor Beer replaced it with a giant tank. A three-kilometer beer pipeline was completed in Bruges , Belgium in September 2016 to reduce truck traffic on the city streets. The village of Hallstatt in Austria, which is known for its long history of salt mining , claims to contain "the oldest industrial pipeline in the world", dating back to 1595. It

2432-609: The economic downturn in 2008. After faltering in 2009, demand for pipeline expansion and updating increased the following year as energy production grew. By 2012, almost 32,000 miles (51500 km) of North American pipeline were being planned or under construction. When pipelines are constrained, additional pipeline product transportation options may include the use of drag reducing agents, or by transporting product via truck or rail. Oil pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes with inner diameter typically from 4 to 48 inches (100 to 1,220 mm). Most pipelines are typically buried at

2496-513: The field devices that will support remote operation. The pipeline is routed along what is known as a "right of way". Pipelines are generally developed and built using the following stages: Russia has "Pipeline Troops" as part of the Rear Services , who are trained to build and repair pipelines. Russia is the only country to have Pipeline Troops. The U.S. government, mainly through the EPA ,

2560-437: The generation of suction pressure for useful work and in transporting solid objects. Pipelines are useful for transporting water for drinking or irrigation over long distances when it needs to move over hills , or where canals or channels are poor choices due to considerations of evaporation , pollution , or environmental impact. Oil pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes which are usually buried. The oil

2624-588: The government regulated pipeline shipping charges because of the significantly shorter distance from gas source to consumer. To avoid delays and US government regulation, many small, medium and large oil producers in North Dakota have decided to run an oil pipeline north to Canada to meet up with a Canadian oil pipeline shipping oil from west to east. This allows the Bakken Basin and Three Forks oil producers to get higher negotiated prices for their oil because they will not be restricted to just one wholesale market in

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2688-466: The lifeline of the Roman Empire. The ancient Chinese also made use of channels and pipe systems for public works. The famous Han dynasty court eunuch Zhang Rang (d. 189 AD) once ordered the engineer Bi Lan to construct a series of square-pallet chain pumps outside the capital city of Luoyang . These chain pumps serviced the imperial palaces and living quarters of the capital city as

2752-416: The mainland. In 1994, the pipeline was abandoned. In places, a pipeline may have to cross water expanses, such as small seas, straits and rivers. In many instances, they lie entirely on the seabed. These pipelines are referred to as "marine" pipelines (also, "submarine" or "offshore" pipelines). They are used primarily to carry oil or gas, but transportation of water is also important. In offshore projects,

2816-413: The most economical way to transport large quantities of oil, refined oil products or natural gas over land. For example, in 2014, pipeline transport of crude oil cost about $ 5 per barrel, while rail transport cost about $ 10 to $ 15 per barrel. Trucking has even higher costs due to the additional labor required; employment on completed pipelines represents only "1% of that of the trucking industry.". In

2880-526: The oil to the market that gives the best price, and rail cars can be used to avoid a congested oil pipeline to get the oil to a different pipeline in order to get the oil to market faster or to a different less busy oil refinery. However, pipelines provide a cheaper means to transport by volume. Enbridge in Canada is applying to reverse an oil pipeline going from east-to-west (Line 9) and expanding it and using it to ship western Canadian bitumen oil eastward. From

2944-414: The oil which then routed to separator vessels. In the separators the lighter fractions flash off from the oil and are further processed to separate them into their individual components. The now stabilised oil can be routed to storage and then sold or sent for further processing. Most airports also have their own dedicated oil depots (usually called "fuel farms") where aviation fuel ( Jet A or 100LL )

3008-451: The operation, operator training requirements, pipeline facilities, technology and applications required to ensure operational safety. For example, in the State of Washington it is mandatory for pipeline operators to be able to detect and locate leaks of 8 percent of maximum flow within fifteen minutes or less. Social factors also affect the operation of pipelines. Product theft is sometimes also

3072-422: The pipeline to be received at any other station down-stream, either cleaning wax deposits and material that may have accumulated inside the line or inspecting and recording the condition of the line. For natural gas, pipelines are constructed of carbon steel and vary in size from 2 to 60 inches (51 to 1,524 mm) in diameter, depending on the type of pipeline. The gas is pressurized by compressor stations and

3136-503: The planning and design phase; 29,647 miles (47,712 km) reflect pipelines in various stages of construction. Liquids and gases are transported in pipelines, and any chemically stable substance can be sent through a pipeline. Pipelines exist for the transport of crude and refined petroleum, fuels – such as oil, natural gas and biofuels – and other fluids including sewage , slurry , water , beer , hot water or steam for shorter distances and even pneumatic systems which allow for

3200-584: The relevant data required. These instruments are installed along the pipeline on some specific locations, such as injection or delivery stations, pump stations (liquid pipelines) or compressor stations (gas pipelines), and block valve stations. The information measured by these field instruments is then gathered in local remote terminal units (RTU) that transfer the field data to a central location in real time using communication systems, such as satellite channels, microwave links, or cellular phone connections. Pipelines are controlled and operated remotely, from what

3264-743: The reservoir size and type. By 1890, 130 vertical cylindrical reservoirs using Shukhov design were built in Russia. Oil terminals may be located close to, or be part of, oil refineries ; or be located in coastal locations where marine tankers can discharge or load cargo. Some terminals are connected to pipelines from which they draw or discharge their products. Terminals can also be served by rail, barge and road tanker (sometimes known as "bridging"). Oil terminals are also located near cities from which road tankers transport products to petrol stations or other domestic, commercial or industrial users. In many oil terminals there are no facilities for processing or other product transformation on site. The products from

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3328-410: The same time. These depots were always shared by the oil companies who have benefited together from the lower costs compared with other transportation methods. However, when they opened, such depots, including Buncefield, sometimes became difficult to manage from an industrial relations perspective. Drivers and other operatives from different oil companies, but members of the same Trades Union , usually

3392-445: The sea, that process is economically and technically demanding, so the majority of oil at sea is transported by tanker ships . Similarly, it is often more economically feasible to transport natural gas in the form of LNG, however the break-even point between LNG and pipelines would depend on the volume of natural gas and the distance it travels. The market size for oil and gas pipeline construction experienced tremendous growth prior to

3456-422: The site with the storage and supply of aviation fuel to Heathrow. BP must comply with more than 50 safety conditions including refurbished tanks and an improved alarm system. The site consists of a northern and a southern portion, with the southern being used by BP and the northern portion being divided into 3 sectors; HOSL West, the BPA area, and HOSL East. Texaco, Total and Shell use HOSL West and HOSL East, while

3520-511: The soil or the water table . Fire protection is a primary consideration, especially for the more flammable products such as petrol (gasoline) and Jet A1 aviation fuel . The Buncefield incident occurred in December 2005. A petrol tank overflowed and spilt petrol down the outside of the tank which created a flammable fuel air mixture. This exploded and damaged and set fire to adjoining tanks and burnt for several days destroying much of

3584-615: The target of military attacks. It is well documented when the first crude oil pipeline was built. Credit for the development of pipeline transport belongs indisputably to the Oil Transport Association, which first constructed a 2-inch (51 mm) wrought iron pipeline over a 6-mile (9.7 km) track from an oil field in Pennsylvania to a railroad station in Oil Creek , in the 1860s. Pipelines are generally

3648-477: The terminal. The ownership of oil depots falls into three main categories: The owners may also provide "hospitality" or "pick up rights" at the facility to other companies. Pipeline transport A pipeline is a system of pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than 2,175,000 miles (3,500,000 km) of pipeline in 120 countries around

3712-462: The transport of ethanol by pipeline are its corrosive nature and tendency to absorb water and impurities in pipelines, which are not problems with oil and natural gas. Insufficient volumes and cost-effectiveness are other considerations limiting construction of ethanol pipelines. In the US minimal amounts of ethanol are transported by pipeline. Most ethanol is shipped by rail, the main alternatives being truck and barge. Delivering ethanol by pipeline

3776-557: The water lifted by the chain pumps was brought in by a stoneware pipe system. Pipelines are useful for transporting water for drinking or irrigation over long distances when it needs to move over hills , or where canals or channels are poor choices due to considerations of evaporation , pollution , or environmental impact. The 530 km (330 miles) Goldfields Water Supply Scheme in Western Australia using 750 mm (30 inch) pipe and completed in 1903

3840-427: The world. The United States had 65%, Russia had 8%, and Canada had 3%, thus 76% of all pipeline were in these three countries. The main attribute to pollution from pipelines is caused by corrosion and leakage. Pipeline and Gas Journal' s worldwide survey figures indicate that 118,623 miles (190,905 km) of pipelines are planned and under construction. Of these, 88,976 miles (143,193 km) represent projects in

3904-509: Was constructed from 13,000 hollowed-out tree trunks to transport brine 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Hallstatt to Ebensee . Between 1978 and 1994, a 15 km milk pipeline ran between the Dutch island of Ameland and Holwerd on the mainland, of which 8 km was beneath the Wadden Sea . Every day, 30,000 litres of milk produced on the island were transported to be processed on

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3968-710: Was constructed to link two Shell refineries in Stanlow in the North West of England at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire , and Shell Haven on the Thames Estuary at Stanford-le-Hope in Thurrock . The pipeline allowed "white oil" products, such as petrol and diesel , to be transported cheaply and efficiently across the country. Along with Buncefield, a number of other pipeline-fed installations were built at

4032-507: Was pioneered by Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov during his work for Branobel oil company. He published an article "Mechanical structures in oil industry" (" Механические сооружения нефтяной промышленности ") in 1883, mathematically proving that cylindrical shape would require the least amount of steel, modelling structural stresses specific to oil storage. Shukhov also developed construction methods, including tables that allowed to calculate required amount of steel and components depending on

4096-987: Was the largest water supply scheme of its time. Examples of significant water pipelines in South Australia are the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline (completed 1944) and Mannum-Adelaide pipeline (completed 1955) pipelines, both part of the larger Snowy Mountains scheme . There are two Los Angeles, California aqueducts, the Owens Valley aqueduct (completed 1913) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct (completed 1970) which also include extensive use of pipelines. The Great Manmade River of Libya supplies 3,680,000 cubic metres (4,810,000 cu yd) of water each day to Tripoli, Benghazi, Sirte, and several other cities in Libya. The pipeline

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