PORTLAND MARKET REPORT
OCTOBER IN VIEW
A LOOK AT ALL THINGS PIPELINE , PARCELS AND SQUEALING PIGS
Last month we looked at the movement of petroleum products by rail , one of three types of “ primary ” transportation that exist in the oil industry . Next month we ’ ll look at barges , but today our focus will be pipelines , so fasten your seatbelts and get ready to learn about 12 ” lines , 50 mile “ parcels ” and why squealing pigs play a key role in keeping the oil flowing …
Long distance oil pipelines were virtually non-existent prior to 1945 , with truck , rail and barge transportation being the preferred methods of bulk movement over long distances . The experiences of the Second World War highlighted the risks of transporting fuel above ground ( targets for bombing raids ) and , as a result , the 1950 ’ s and 60 ’ s saw the rapid development of an intricate oil pipeline network across Europe , that linked refining hubs to the major conurbations of the continent .
“ A HUGELY POSITIVE EFFECT ON BOTH CO2 EMISSIONS AND LOCAL AIR QUALITY ”
In the UK we currently have almost 5,000 km of operating oil pipelines , transporting over 30m tonnes per annum ( circa 36bn litres ), a figure almost 3.5 times the volume that is carried by UK rail . In Scotland , the Finnart line from Grangemouth Refinery travels to the hidden Ocean Terminal in Loch Long ( surely the most picturesque oil facility on earth !), from where sea tankers are loaded to supply over 80 % of Northern Ireland ’ s oil demand . South of the border , the UKOP line ( United Kingdom Oil Pipeline ) makes up the mainstay of pipeline activity and this 12 ” diameter pipeline follows the route of the M25 – M1 and M6 , to link the Thames and Mersey estuaries to London and Birmingham .
From the south , ( Thames import locations ), the UKOP line runs up to Kingsbury ( near Birmingham ) via Hemel Hempstead ( Buncefield = North-West London ), whilst in the North-West ( Mersey refinery ), the line travels south also to Kingsbury and then on to Hemel Hempstead . Between Kingsbury and Hemel Hempstead , the
22 Fuel Oil News | November 2020 northbound ( ex-Thames ) line and southbound ( ex-Mersey ) travel parallel to each other – one northbound , one southbound – so that Birmingham and North-West London can be supplied by both the Thames and Mersey oil facilities . So next time you are driving one way or t ’ other on the M1 or M6 , take comfort in the knowledge that somewhere , very nearby , is a pipeline slowly pumping its 5 or 6m litre “ parcel ” of diesel or petrol to its destination . And such is the geometric nature of a 12 ” diameter tube , the parcel of fuel in question will be taking up approximately 50 miles of pipeline !
Post-war pipeline construction was , unsurprisingly , not only confined to British shores , with all the major European nations constructing huge and complex pipeline networks . The mighty Dutch-German Rhein- Main-Rohrleitungstransportgesellschaft ( RMR for short , but spelt out in full , simply for the wonderment of how many letters the German language can agglomerate to make one single word ) pumps a whopping 40m litres per day into the highly populated North-Rhine Westphalia and Hesse regions . Total German oil pipeline volume is over 100m tonnes ( 120bn litres ) per annum , over 3 times that of the UK , although much of this volume is crude oil supplying inland German refineries . In France , the largest capacity line is the Le Havre – Paris ring ( 32m litres per day ), which transports oil from France ’ s biggest refinery to strategically located terminals that encircle the capital . In the south , the Pipeline Mediterranee / Rhone ( 30m litres per day ) does the same for the Southern French city of Lyon ( plus Geneva ), whilst the cross-border , 5,600km CEPS line ( Central European Pipeline System ) interconnects oil terminals in France , Luxembourg , Belgium , Holland and Germany .
The benefits of pipeline transportation are myriad and put the other forms of primary transportation into the shade when it comes to environmental and cost benefits . In the UK , oil pipelines transport the equivalent of 1m road journeys per annum , therefore having a hugely positive effect on both CO2 emissions and local air quality . Furthermore , the energy required to pump fuel in pipelines is limited , as the capillary action of liquids means momentum is maintained with minimal energy inputs . This , in turn , positively affects the cost , which is a fraction of that associated with other forms of transport . UK pipeline freight comes in at less than £ 1 per tonne versus £ 6 per tonne for rail and £ 10 per tonne for road transport . The rub , of course , is that pipelines cost a lot to build in the first place , but once built – like the proverbial Duracell battery – they just go and go and go . Finally , product spillages on long distance European pipelines are virtually unheard of and because they reside underground , pipelines present few aesthetic objections and , in fact , allow for plentiful vegetation and arboreal cover .
“ THE NOISE WAS REMINISCENT OF THAT OF A SQUEALING PIG ”
But what about those squealing pigs ? How do they fit into all this ? Well , in order to clean the inside of a pipeline and to clear it of rust and product residue , a cylindrical creation coated on the outside with metal brushes ( and with a diameter that is fractionally smaller than the diameter of the pipe ) is stuffed up the line and sent all the way along from start to finish , moving with the product flow and cleaning as it goes . Officially , this piece of kit is called a “ Pipeline Inspection Gauge ” ( PIG ) – but Portland knows better because a Texas oil-man , who went simply by the name of “ Big Stan ”, let him into the secret many years ago . The reason pipeline pigs were called pigs was obvious to anyone who was present when the instrument was stuffed up the line ; the noise the metal bristles made on the inside of the pipe was reminiscent of that of a squealing pig …
For more pricing information , see page 30
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