Editing Pipeline (section)

==Oil and natural gas==
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{{See also|List of oil pipelines|List of natural gas pipelines}}

{{Split section|Oil pipeline|Gas pipeline|date=June 2019|discuss=Talk:Pipeline_transport#Giving_the_oil_and_gas_pipeline_their_own_articles}}

[[File:Pipeline device.jpg|thumb|left|A "[[Pipeline inspection gauge|Pig]]" launcher/receiver, on the natural gas pipeline in Switzerland]]

The first [[crude oil]] pipeline was built by the Oil Transport Association, which constructed a {{convert|2|in|mm|adj=on}} wrought iron pipeline over a {{convert|6|mi|km|adj=on}} track from an oil field in Pennsylvania to a railroad station in [[Oil Creek State Park#History|Oil Creek]], in the 1860s. Some of the first major [[submarine pipeline]]s were constructed across the [[English Channel]] in 1944 during [[Operation Pluto]]. These provided an estimated 8 per cent of all petroleum products used by the Allies on the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]] between the Normandy landings and the end of Second World War.

Pipelines are generally the most economical way to transport large quantities of oil, [[Petroleum product|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.<ref name="forbes">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/04/26/pick-your-poison-for-crude-pipeline-rail-truck-or-boat/ |title=Pick Your Poison For Crude – Pipeline, Rail, Truck Or Boat |author=James Conca |date=26 April 2014 |magazine=Forbes}}</ref> Trucking has even higher costs due to the additional labor required; employment on completed pipelines represents only "1% of that of the trucking industry.".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cepac.cheme.cmu.edu/pasi2008/slides/cerda/library/slides/jcerda-pasi-2008-1page.pdf |title=Oil Pipeline Logistics |publisher=Cepac.cheme.cmu.edu |access-date=2015-05-04}}</ref>

In 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.<ref name="forbes" />

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 {{convert|125|psi|kPa}}, can be shipped by rail, truck or pipeline. Propane can be used as 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 {{convert|125|psi|kPa|abbr=on}} at retail stations. Pipelines and rail cars use about double that pressure to pump at {{convert|250|psi|kPa|abbr=on}}.

[[File:Pipeline-small image, seen from below.jpeg|thumb|200px|An elevated section of the [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline System]]]]

The distance to ship propane to markets is much shorter, as thousands of [[natural-gas processing]] plants are located in or near oil fields. Many [[Bakken Formation|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 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.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

[[File:Major russian gas pipelines to europe.png|thumb|right|upright=1.4|Major Russian gas pipelines to Europe in 2009.{{update inline|date=April 2022}} Deliveries on some pipelines were disrupted by or became controversial after the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], including the [[2022 Russia–European Union gas dispute]].]]

This new US-supplied natural gas displaces the natural gas formerly shipped to Ontario from western Canada in Alberta and Manitoba, thus dropping 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 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 fund]]s and [[joint venture]]s 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, a pipeline is currently being constructed from North Dakota to Illinois, commonly known as the [[Dakota Access Pipeline]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=About |publisher=Dakota Access Pipeline|url=https://daplpipelinefacts.com/About.html|access-date=2020-10-09|website=daplpipelinefacts.com}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/drilling/pdf/dpr-full.pdf|title=Drilling Productivity Report|date=November 2017|publisher=U.S. Energy Information Administration|access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> North Dakota oil companies are shipping huge amounts of oil by tanker rail car as they can direct 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/projects/pipeline_journey.html |title=Line 9: Journey along the pipeline |work=Toronto Star |first1=Jessica |last1=Mcdiarmid  |date=2014-01-17 |access-date=2015-01-28 |archive-date=2015-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221120259/http://www.thestar.com/projects/pipeline_journey.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> From 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 the sea, that process is economically and technically demanding, so the majority of oil at sea is transported by [[tanker (ship)|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.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ulvestad|first1= Marte|last2=Overland|first2=Indra|date=2012|title= Natural gas and CO2 price variation: Impact on the relative cost-efficiency of LNG and pipelines |bibcode-access=free |doi-access=free |journal=International Journal of Environmental Studies|volume=69|issue=3|pages=407–426|pmc=3962073|doi= 10.1080/00207233.2012.677581|pmid= 24683269|bibcode= 2012IJEnS..69..407U}}</ref>

===Growth of market===
[[File:Gasoducto junto a la B-145, Chile, 2016-02-09, DD 36.JPG|thumb|Gas pipe in the dry region of Antofagasta, Chile]]

The market size for oil and gas pipeline construction experienced tremendous growth prior to the economic downturn in 2008. After faltering in 2009, demand for pipeline expansion and updating increased the following year as energy production grew.<ref>[http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/default.aspx?indid=1977 "Oil & Gas Pipeline Construction in the U.S.: Market Research Report]", November 2012, IBISWorld.</ref> By 2012, almost 32,000 miles (51500 km) of North American pipeline were being planned or under construction.<ref name="pipelineandgasjournal.com">{{cite journal |url-status=dead |url=http://www.pipelineandgasjournal.com/2012-worldwide-pipeline-construction-report |title=2012 Worldwide Pipeline Construction Report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325081749/http://www.pipelineandgasjournal.com/2012-worldwide-pipeline-construction-report |archive-date=2013-03-25 |journal=Pipeline and Gas Journal |volume=239 |issue=1 |date=January 2012 |first1=Rita |last1=Tubb }}</ref> 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.

===Construction and operation===
Oil pipelines are made from [[steel]] or [[HDPE pipe|plastic tubes]] with inner diameter typically from {{convert|4|to|48|in}}. Most pipelines are typically buried at a depth of about {{convert|3|to|6|ft}}. To protect pipes from [[impact (mechanics)|impact]], [[abrasion (mechanical)|abrasion]], and [[corrosion]], a variety of methods are used. These can include [[wood lagging]] (wood slats), [[concrete]] coating, rockshield, [[HDPE pipe|high-density polyethylene]], imported sand padding, sacrificial cathodes and padding machines.<ref name="asme">{{cite book
| last = Mohitpour
| first = Mo
| title = Pipeline Design and Construction: A Practical Approach
| publisher = ASME Press
| year = 2003
| isbn = 978-0791802021
}}</ref>

Crude oil contains varying amounts of [[paraffin wax]] and in colder climates wax buildup may occur within 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.<ref>[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/go-devil go-devil – definition of go-devil] by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.</ref> These devices are launched from pig-launcher stations and travel through 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 {{convert|2|to|60|in}} in diameter, depending on the type of pipeline. The gas is pressurized by [[compressor station]]s and is odorless unless mixed with a [[thiol|mercaptan odorant]] where required by a regulating authority.