Oil and Gas Pipelines and their Importance
Over the past 50 years, the annual energy consumption globally has nearly tripled – from 65 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 1970 to 175 TWh in 2021. This was mainly driven by the replacement of burning coal with oil and gas as the primary source of the world’s energy. By the 1970s, rapid advancements in sourcing, transporting and refining oil and gas allowed those energy-dense fossil fuels to increase its footprint around the world and led to greater energy consumption. But how are such massive amounts of energy transported? The answer is via pipelines; in this blog we will dive deeper into the network of pipelines which plays a crucial part in meeting energy supply and demand.
Types of Pipelines
There are two main categories of pipelines used to transport energy products: petroleum pipelines and natural gas pipelines.
Petroleum pipelines: These transport crude oil or natural gas liquids, and there are three main types of petroleum pipelines involved in this process: gathering systems, crude oil pipeline systems, and refined products pipelines systems. The gathering pipeline systems gather the crude oil or natural gas liquid from the production wells. It is then transported with the crude oil pipeline system to a refinery. Once the petroleum is refined into products such as gasoline or kerosene, it is transported via the refined products pipeline systems to storage or distribution stations.
Natural gas pipelines: These transport natural gas from stationary facilities such as gas wells or import/export facilities, and deliver to a variety of locations, such as homes or directly to other export facilities. This process also involves three different types of pipelines: gathering systems, transmission systems, and distribution systems. Similar to the petroleum gathering systems, the natural gas gathering pipeline system gathers the raw material from production wells. It is then transported with large lines of transmission pipelines that move natural gas from facilities to ports, refiners, and cities across the country.
Global Pipelines – 30 times the Earth’s circumference!
According to the Global Energy Monitor, there were at least 2,381 operational oil and gas pipelines distributed across some 162 countries as of December 2020. The combined length of these pipelines is more than 1.18 million km (730,000 miles) – enough to circle the Earth 30 times.
The countries with the longest network of oil and gas pipelines include:
- United States – Oil: 91,067km (56,587 miles); Gas: 333,366km (207,145 miles)
- Russia – Oil: 38,419km (23,872 miles); Gas: 92,831km (57,683 miles)
- Canada – Oil: 23,361km (14,516 miles); Gas: 84,682km (52,619 miles)
- China – Oil: 27,441km (17,051 miles); Gas: 76,363km (47,450 miles)
- Australia – Oil: 1,636km (1,017 miles); Gas: 23,002km (14,293 miles)
Top 5 Longest Pipelines
The 5 longest pipelines in the world are listed as follows: –
- West-East Pipeline Project (5410 miles)
Started in 2002, this pipeline officially began to supply natural gas three years later. It’s so long that it travels through almost seventy cities in China, and is used for electricity.
- GASUN Pipeline (3100 miles)
This line is due to be completed by 2026. While still some way from being done, this pipeline is geared to begin in Brazil and bring those north of the Amazon the gas they need.
- Yamal-Europe Pipeline (2607 miles)
This pipeline provides gas to Russia, Belarus, Poland, and Germany. This project began in 1994, and first began its production in 2006.
- Trans-Saharan Pipeline (2565 miles)
In 2009, the planning for this project began. Its makers hoped to give options to people in Nigeria, Algeria, and Niger. The line was also meant to keep one source from being overused.
- Trans-Canada Pipeline (2005 miles)
This is Canada’s longest pipeline, going through to Quebec and other places from Alberta. In 1951, Canada found a great need for better gas supply. This led them, along with the United States, to begin planning and financing for this pipeline.
The Final Word
It is observed that pipelines are the lifeline for transportation of oil and energy from upstream oil mining locations to downstream oil processing and refining set-ups and they play an important role in driving the economy of a nation. Many pipelines are underground rather than above ground and so, most people are unaware of their existence. The value of pipelines can be understood when, during the recent conflicts in the Middle East, the pipelines were always safeguarded so that terrorists could not disrupt oil supply as this would generate chaos in the conflict regions!