Pipeline Transportation

Oil pipelines are the least expensive and most environmentally friendly method of moving oil. The pumping stations’ produced pressure difference causes the oil in them to travel at a speed of up to 3 m/s. Depending on the geography of the road, they are erected every 70 to 150 kilometers. The pipes have valves placed at a distance of 10 to 30 kilometers that allow for the blocking of specific sections in the event of an accident. Pipes typically have an interior diameter between 100 and 1400 millimeters. Steels with high plasticity that can endure thermal, mechanical, and chemical impacts are used to make the pipes. Pipelines with reinforcements are becoming more and more common. They have a nearly infinite service life and are not corrosive.

Fuel pipelines transport diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel from the refinery to regional distribution centers. Pipelines that transport crude oil from the wellhead to storage tanks and treatment facilities, where it is measured and tested, make up field gathering systems that collect crude oil. We routinely inspect our pipelines. The majority of our pipelines are generally unconstrained in terms of the types of crude and refined products that we can carry on them, with the possible exception of specific pipeline and terminal agreements. Our pipelines that transport refined products and crude oil are subject to interstate transportation tariff regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and intrastate transportation tariff regulation by state regulatory organizations.