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 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.
52-473: Nord Stream (German–English mixed expression for "North Stream"; Russian: Северный поток , Severny potok ) is a network of offshore natural gas pipelines which run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany to provide Western Europe with natural gas. It comprises two separate projects, Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2. Both of the pipelines, each comprise two pipes, NS1 A and B as well as NS2 A and B, for
104-425: 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
156-589: 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
208-471: 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
260-542: 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
312-452: 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
364-723: 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 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
416-501: 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
468-500: 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
520-449: 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
572-462: 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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#1732794447272624-555: A total of 4 physical pipes. Both pipelines start in Russia and land in Lubmin , Germany. NordStream is owned by a consortium of 5 energy companies: Gazprom international projects North 1 LLC (Gazprom Group company), Wintershall Dea AG, PEG Infrastruktur AG (E.ON), N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie and ENGIE. It was the first pipeline that bypassed Ukraine and Poland to deliver Russian natural gas directly to West Europe. The project Nord Stream 2
676-649: 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
728-644: 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
780-467: 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
832-503: 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
884-445: 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
936-625: 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
988-633: 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
1040-431: 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
1092-455: Is processed in oil refineries . Unlike petrochemicals , which are a collection of well-defined usually pure organic compounds, petroleum products are complex mixtures. Most petroleum is converted into petroleum products, which include several classes of fuels. According to the composition of the crude oil and depending on the demands of the market, refineries can produce different shares of petroleum products. The largest share of oil products
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#17327944472721144-609: 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
1196-405: 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
1248-609: 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
1300-507: Is used as "energy carriers", i.e. various grades of fuel oil and gasoline . These fuels include or can be blended to give gasoline, jet fuel , diesel fuel , heating oil , and heavier fuel oils. Heavier (less volatile ) fractions can also be used to produce asphalt , tar , paraffin wax , lubricating and other heavy oils. Refineries also produce other chemicals , some of which are used in chemical processes to produce plastics and other useful materials. Since petroleum often contains
1352-528: 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
1404-744: 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
1456-535: The Baltic Sea. Pipeline transport 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 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
1508-655: The Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines, rendering three of the four lines inoperable. Three separate investigations were started by Germany, Sweden and Denmark, the latter two were closed without publicly assigned responsibility for the damage in February 2024. In June 2024 German authorities issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian national suspected of the sabotage. Although none of the four Nord Stream pipelines were in operation, they still contained pressurized natural gas , of which vast quantities were released into
1560-471: 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
1612-598: 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
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1664-533: 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,
1716-554: 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
1768-592: 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
1820-609: 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
1872-513: 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 ,
1924-560: The field related to pressures, flows, and temperatures to estimate the hydraulic behavior of the product being transported. Once the estimation is completed, the results are compared to other field references to detect the presence of an anomaly or unexpected situation, which may be related to a leak. The American Petroleum Institute has published several articles related to the performance of CPM in liquids pipelines. The API Publications are: Petroleum product Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil ( petroleum ) as it
1976-588: 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
2028-466: 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
2080-416: 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,
2132-413: 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
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2184-526: 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
2236-451: 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
2288-422: 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
2340-584: 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
2392-445: 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
2444-615: 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
2496-462: 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
2548-557: 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
2600-509: 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
2652-430: Was opposed from the start by the United States, primarily because it would increase German dependence on Russian energy. The United States later imposed sanctions on companies that were involved in the project. The U.S. sanctions were criticized heavily by German politicians as "a serious interference in the internal affairs of Germany and Europe and their sovereignty". On 26 September 2022, news broke of four explosions at
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#17327944472722704-987: 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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