Advantages of Pipeline Transportation

Pipeline transportation is widely adopted for long-distance oil & gas transmission. This article analyzes the core advantages of pipeline transportation through practical engineering data and real project cases, including transport capacity, land utilization, construction, safety and operational economics.

(1) Large volume.

An oil pipeline enables 24-hour uninterrupted fluid delivery. Depending on the size of its diameter, its annual throughput can reach several million tons to tens of millions of tons, or even more than 100 million tons for large-diameter trunk lines.

(2) Small land footprint.

Transport pipelines are often buried underground and occupy very little land; engineering data from transport system projects proves that the buried section accounts for more than 95% of the total pipeline length. Therefore, permanent land occupation is minimal, roughly 3% of a highway and about 10% of a railway. When designing transportation networks, prioritizing pipeline transportation helps conserve valuable land resources for pipeline projects.

(3) Pipeline transportation construction period is short and low cost.

A large number of domestic and international transportation construction projects have proven that building a pipeline system generally takes at least one-third less time than constructing a railway with equivalent transport capacity. For reference, China’s Daqing–Qinhuangdao oil pipeline (1,152 km long) was completed in only 23 months. A railway with the same throughput would require a minimum of three years. The 4,200 km West-East natural gas pipeline from Xinjiang to Shanghai was finished within 2 years, while constructing a railway of equal capacity would take 3 years or longer. The gap widens in regions with tough geological and climatic conditions, where railway construction becomes far more difficult and time-consuming. Statistics show pipeline construction costs are roughly 60% lower than railway projects of the same scale.

(4) Pipeline transportation safe, reliable operation and stable continuous delivery.
As the oil and natural gas is flammable, explosive, volatile, easy to leak, the use of pipeline transportation, both safe and can greatly reduce the volatile loss, while leakage due to air, water and soil pollution can be greatly reduced, that is to say , Pipeline transportation can better meet the transport engineering green requirements, in addition, because the pipeline is basically buried in the ground, its transport process harsh and changeable weather conditions affect small, can ensure long-term stable operation of the transport system.

(5) Pipeline transportation with less energy consumption, low cost and good benefits.

In developed countries, the energy consumption for oil pipeline transport per ton-kilometer is only 1/7 of that of rail transport. Its transportation cost is close to water transport, making it one of the most energy-efficient transport solutions for landlocked regions without waterways. Theoretical research and field experience confirm that larger pipe diameters, longer transmission distances and higher throughput further reduce unit transportation costs. Taking crude oil transportation as an example, the cost ratio of pipeline transport : water transport : rail transport is 1 : 1 : 1.7.

Summary:

Pipeline transportation delivers prominent strengths in transmission volume, land occupation, construction cycle, operational safety and energy efficiency. It serves as a reliable solution for long-distance oil and gas delivery.

This article only discusses the advantages of pipeline transportation. ▶ To see the full picture including limitations, check: [Pipeline Transportation: Advantages, Disadvantages]

Read more: 

●  Pros and cons overview of pipeline transportation

●  How to Choose the Right Pipeline Transportation System?

●  3 Types of Long-distance Oil and Gas Transmission Steel Pipes