Petroleum transport

Oil tanker filling at the Al Başrah Oil Terminal in Iraq

Marine Vessels and barges can transport this petroleum all around the world. Because these vessels can carry a lot of fuel, the amount it costs per barrel to move this oil is very cheap. These tankers are also the only practical way to move crude oil across the oceans. Usually the larger tankers are used to transport this fuel on a global scale, taking fuel from one continent to the other. Barges are more like tankers, but smaller and do not have any method of propulsion to move them. They are often pushed or towed by tugs. This makes barges very ineffective for transporting this oil for long distances. Barges are also not applicable for traveling across rough seas, so they are used in calmer waters. However, these barges are usually used for transporting the fuel shorter distances.[2]

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System cuts through Alaska's wilderness. Special heat exchanger supports protect the Permafrost from melting

Pipelines are used to transport oil from the wells to refineries and storage facilities. Pipelines are viewed as the most cost efficient way to move oil on land.[3] First the oil is collected at the wellhead, or some area where the oil is stored. From the wellhead it is pumped across the land through a pipe, and is discharged at its destination which typically is a refinery. However, pipelines can be used the same way to deliver already refined fuels such as gasoline, diesel and even jet fuel from the refinery to distribution facilities or a consumer. These pipelines are not just a solid line of straight pipe, but have various components on the pipeline. These pipelines will have booster pumps to keep the fuel moving along a long distance, inspection areas to make sure that the fuel is not getting any contaminants, and even other collection and delivery points along the way. Although it costs a lot of money and time to set up these pipelines, the operation cost is significantly less than using any other type of transportation.[3] Also the amount of manpower needed to move this oil is not that much. Pipelines offer the most efficient mode of transporting this oil across a land mass.[4] Even though these pipes are extremely cost effective there are some circumstances where this is not true and it is more logical to use another method. An example of this is how it is cheaper and more logical to use a ship to move the oil across the Atlantic Ocean than a pipeline.

Tanker cars marked UN number 1267 - Crude Oil, cross Altoona, Pennsylvania to a refinery

Tank cars are another way to move crude oil across a landmass. The oil is loaded into the tank cars, and are moved by a diesel train across the rails to the refinery or the train’s planned destination. Trains can carry a massive amount of this oil by using of multiple tank cars. Though each rail car holds a lot less oil than a large marine tanker vessel, when multiple are used a lot of oil can be transported. For example, the DOT-111 tank car is a very common tank car and can hold 131 cubic metres (820 bbl; 35,000 US gal).[5] If ten tank cars were pulled the train would be carrying 1,310 cubic metres (8,200 bbl; 350,000 US gal) of oil, so the amount of volume increases rapidly. The locomotive used to pull these rail cars have a massive amount of horsepower and can be hooked up with other locomotives to increase the power, making the rail car a fairly cost effective way to move this oil. These rail cars, just like the pipelines, can be used to carry a refined fuel instead of crude oil from a refinery to a distributing plant.[6] Rail cars are a common way to move this fuel a long distance to areas where they do not have pipelines set up.

The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, in which over 30 buildings were destroyed and 47 killed, after a runaway train derailed at high speed

The public debate surrounding the trade-offs between pipeline and rail transportation has been developing over the past decade as the amount of crude oil transported by rail has increased.[7][8] It was invigorated in 2013 after the deadly Lac-Mégantic disaster in Quebec when a freight train derailed and spilled 5.56 million litres[9] of crude oil, which resulted in explosions and fires that destroyed much of the town's core. That same year, a train carrying propane and crude derailed near Gainford, Alberta, resulting in two explosions but no injuries or fatalities.[10] These rail accidents, among other examples, have raised concerns that the regulation of rail transport is inadequate for large-scale crude oil shipments. Pipeline failures also occur, for instance, in 2015 a Nexen pipeline ruptured and leaked 5 million litres of crude oil over approximately 16,000 m² at the company's Long Lake oilsands facility south of Fort McMurray.[11] Although both pipeline and rail transportation are generally quite safe, neither mode is without risk. Numerous studies, however, indicate that pipelines are safer, based on the number of occurrences (accidents and incidents) weighed against the quantity of product transported.[12][13] Between 2004 and 2015, the likelihood of rail accidents in Canada was 2.6 times greater than for pipelines per transported volume of oil equivalents.[14] Natural gas products were 4.8 times more likely to have a rail occurrence when compared to similar commodities transported by pipelines.[14] Critics question if pipelines carrying diluted bitumen from Alberta's oil sands are more likely to corrode and cause incidents, but evidence shows the risk of corrosion being no different than that of other crude oils.[15]

A double tank truck in Australia

Tank trucks are used more like rail cars are, but they will usually transport refined fuel to a fuel station, like a gas station. Trucks are usually used to carry smaller capacities of oil short distances. Like rail cars, these trucks can carry several different forms of this petroleum, including petroleum in its crude oil form from oilfields to refineries when no other means of transport such as pipeline or rail is available. However, these trucks often deliver this fuel to gas stations, or deliver the fuel straight to the consumer.[6] They also are used in situations where it would be illogical to use rail cars, pipelines and tanker ships. Because gas stations do not require large amounts of fuel, and generally could not practically be connected to railways, trucks allow a rational and cost effective way to deliver the fuel to the consumers. Common sizes of their tanks range from 1.5 to 28.4 cubic metres (400 to 7,500 US gal).[16]

A 2017 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that contrary to popular belief, the sum of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions costs is substantially larger than accidents and spill costs for both pipelines and rail.[18] For crude oil transported from the North Dakota Bakken Formation, air pollution and greenhouse gas emission costs are substantially larger for rail compared to pipeline. For pipelines and rail, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) central estimate of spill and accident costs is US$62 and US$381 per million-barrel miles transported, respectively.[19] Total greenhouse gas and air pollution costs are 8 times higher than accident and spills costs for pipelines (US$531 vs US$62) and 3 times higher for rail (US$1015 vs US$381).[19]

Finally, transporting oil and gas by rail is generally more expensive for producers than transporting it by pipeline. On average, it costs between US$10-$15 per barrel to transport oil and gas by rail compared to $5 a barrel for pipeline.[20][21] In 2012,16 million barrels of oil were imported to USA by rail. By 2014, that number increased to 59 million barrels.[22] Although quantities decreased to 48 million barrels in 2017, the competitive advantages offered by rail, particularly its access to remote regions as well as lack of regulatory and social challenges compared with building new pipelines, will likely make it a viable transportation method for years to come.[22] Both forms of transportation play a role in moving oil efficiently, but each has its unique trade-offs in terms of the benefits it offers.