Can oil companies send a certain quantity of oil through a pipeline?
Asked by
Ltryptophan (
12091
)
April 6th, 2017
from iPhone
Is a pipeline strictly used by one oil company, or can many tap in and plan to send a certain amount through like a package, or a train.
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7 Answers
You might learn more about the topic by simply googling “pipeline lease” and see where that takes you. It’s not a novel or even particularly unusual topic. I don’t know anything more about it than that “it’s a thing”, so I don’t know how it’s managed.
A certain amount of crude goes in, the same quality of crude comes out, if not the same crude put in by one particular well. So if you put in 500 barrels, you take out 500 barrels. That’s all.
All oil in a certain area is the same crude, and some is better than others, like the crude (light sweet) that comes from the Arabian gulf, as compared to the crude crude that comes from North Dakota. Not all crude is the same!
Gasoline in a pipeline is different. Monitors tell what gas is where and very little gets mixed between 2 types. Where the 2 meet, this gas is taken out and used in military trucks and vehicles that are “multi-fuel” vehicles.
My wife worked for an pipeline logistics company for several years. Here’s the way I understand it: Different products can be sent via the same pipe. The flow rate is a known quantity, therefore the transport time from terminal to terminal can be calculated. If, say, I placed an order for 500 barrels of 93 octane, 200 barrels of #2 diesel, and 150 barrels of 85 octane, the delivery would occur at the same terminal, from the same pipe, in consecutive order, and only minimal mixture of the different products
I suppose a pig (a pipe cleaning device) could be used to separate different grades of refined oil, like motor oils, or gear oils. But usually, oil from wells is crude shipped as a single type (crude) and sent to a refinery. What comes out of the refinery and the pipe it may be moved in, is different. Usually, refined oils are packaged at the refinery and shipped in barrels, quarts, gallons, 5 gal. buckets, etc. Motor fuels can be shipped via pipe as I described above.
@kritiper please see above answers for more question specific answers. Interesting about the pig though.
Hey, git yo musical ass over to TJBM #79. We’re trying to get Mimi’s belated party started.
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