Oil and gas pipelines act as important veins inside the earth. We leverage extensive carbon stainless steel and plastic pipes, to transport oil & gas throughout the planet for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes. Their presence carries geo-strategic, geo-political cum economic influence in the bilateral and international relationships between nations. Apart from this their utility lies in supplying energy resources to every territory, especially those which lack natural resources. Presently, the world has an expansive 3.5 million kilometers of pipeline network connecting the world. In fact, as per Globaldata the pipeline network is expected to increase by 12.2% in distance by 2022.
There has been a positive forecast with respect to the growth of these modes of transportation, as oil and gas continues to be the primary energy resource all over the world. As per Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) estimate, by 2040 they will be covering more than 50% of the global energy needs; and the demand for crude oil & gas will increase by 14.5 million barrels a day from 2020.
The true value of these pipelines lies in them being channels for hydrocarbons transportation systems, and therefore have number of benefits over traditional channels:
- Pipeline overall are very economical for nations. While they have a high transportation capacity, they require little energy which is only for starting up the centrifugal pumps which help push the oil and gas product through the pipelines. Usually the standard pipeline is of a 20-inch diameter which can easily move approximately one million liters per hour, whereas a truck only has a capacity to transport 30,000 liters. This difference along with the cost of human capital, makes transport by ship or truck 15 times more expensive.
- Next, reliability in terms of environmental and socioeconomic risks makes pipelines a better deal for nations. It enables them to move up global indices of disaster mitigation, social, economic and environment. Furthermore, it enables nations to manage safe and efficient transport of hydrocarbons even during earthquakes, closed roads or strikes. Although a slow process, yet the transportation happens continuously and is constant with a speed of around 5 to 10 km/hour. A 24 hours round the clock operational pipeline then means seamless flow of energy and power for allied industries required to run a nation that too cost effectively. It ensures that the required oil and gas always will arrive on time at the required distribution centers.
- Lastly, for economies a safe transport means respect and sovereignty. A good pipeline network then ensures that nations have a stronger standing in the international sphere. In fact, a good pipeline has an able supply control system which help detect any loss of fuel, as they will cut off the flow automatically in event of any possible disaster or leak. Since they are usually underground, the rate of serious hazards is way less and such incidents are too few in comparison to those of transports done via trains, ship or trucks.
PetroGas Piping is a global supplier for Piping Materials and are responsible for supplying bulk piping materials to the Oil and Gas, Hydrocarbons, Power and Water Industry.