Pipeline The Best & Most Efficient Mode of Transport of Hydrocarbon

Pipeline is the lifeline of a country with respect to the crude and fuel (refined product) (i.e. hydrocarbon) transportation. Most of the pipelines have to be laid outside or beyond the owners premises/ country in order to transport fuel from one corner to another corner of the country with respect to individuals e.g. 1800 KM long Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagadishpur (HBJ) pipeline or in general term globe with respect to nations e.g. Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India pipeline. These types of pipelines are generalized in the term of cross country pipeline and it is rarely to have other than cross country pipeline as the pipelines having length more than 1000 KM. As mentioned that the cross country pipelines are generally laid across cross country location in addition to pipeline operators own premises, mostly passes through agricultural and waste land and crossings various roads, railways, canals and river and other utility lines enroute. The pipeline stations like pumping stations for pumping crude oil, natural gas depending on the length of grid and pressure requirement in pipeline will be developed in the lands under the Pipeline Owners possession. Cross country pipelines are generally laid underground maintaining a minimum top cover of 1 meter duly following relevant statutory and technical specifications. A corridor of appropriate width say 18 m is required for pipeline laying activity all along the pipeline route for movement of construction equipment deployed during construction. This corridor is acquired under Petroleum & Mineral Pipeline (Acquisition of Right of users in Land) Act, 1962 and its amendments. As per the act, after due publication of gazette notifications(3(1),5(1),6(1) notifications under the above act through Ministry Of Petroleum & Natural Gas, the pipeline owner acquires Right Of Use (ROU) for laying and maintenance of the pipeline along the desired corridor. The land owners are allowed right to use after completion of pipeline laying for the original usage, mostly for agricultural purpose, without carrying out any permanent construction. Suitable OFC communication cables are also laid along with the pipeline for data and communication needs of pipeline operations. Subsea/under water pipeline requires specific approvals both from the International authorization agency and respective nations or the federation formed by nations. ADVANTAGES OF PIPELINE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION:

In pipeline, containers remain static whereas the cargo is moved. In case of other modes of cargo
transport, the container moves along with the products and returns empty carrying the dead loads. Thus, the difficulties in handling large volume of products by rail from one loading point are reduced. Moreover, the energy consumed per unit distance per unit weight of products by pipelines is comparatively much less than railways. Minimum transit loss-The transit losses in rail/road transportation is as high as 0.3-0.5% of throughput, while in case of pipelines it ranges from 0.05-0.10% of the throughput which gives the added advantage.

Safe & reliable mode of transport system; Economical & dependable mode of transport system
particularly to the sensitive and strategic areas. Long term infrastructural option.

Land cost is minimum because once pipeline is buried the land can be restored back for use. The environmental impact on the pipeline is limited mainly to the period of laying the line and operation.
During operation there may be deterioration in the soil air quality owing to running of the pumps and emissions of hydrocarbon which occur during storage and dispatch activities but of little effect on the environment. Therefore the environmental impact on the pipelines is relatively insignificant as compared to other modes of transportation system.

DETAILS OF HYDROCARBONS THAT ARE TRANSPORTED BY PIPELINE:

Crude Oil, Refined Petroleum Products High Speed Diesel (HSD) , Superior Kerosene Oil (SKO), Motor Spirit (MS) , Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) , Naptha, Black Oil etc. and Fuel Oil (FO) for power generation Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) ,Light Diesel Oil (LDO) , Low Sulphur Heavy Stock (LSHS) , Heavy Petroleum Stock (HPS) etc. ; Raw Natural Gas, Purified Natural Gas like Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) ,Piped Natural Gas (PNG). PIPELINECAPACITY IN INDIA: 3 Nos Crude Oil Pipeline of total capacity 34 MMTPA traversing through 4000 KM. 17 Nos Petroleum Product Pipeline of total capacity 62 MMTPA traversing through 6600 KM. 2 Nos LPG Pipeline of total capacity 3.8 MMTPA. PETROLEUM PIPELINE SYSTEM: FROM THE WELL HEAD TO THE CONSUMER: A BRIEF OVERVIEW There are three major types of pipeline systems: Gathering Pipeline System, Crude Oil Pipeline System, and Refined Products Pipeline System Gathering Pipeline System gathers crude oil from production wells; Crude Oil Pipeline Systems transport crude oil from the gathering systems to the refineries, and Refined Products Pipeline System transport refined products from refineries to the end user or to storage and distribution terminals. Pipe used in oil pipeline system can range in size from 2 42 in diameter. BASIC PIPELINE SYSTEM Main pumping station attached to a storage terminal (dispatch terminal) Facilities Storage tanks, Booster/Mainline Pumps, Pressure Control & Metering, PIG launcher, Corrosion Inhibitor Injection, Fire Fighting, and Electrical & Instrumentation. Line pipes & bends, pipeline coating, insulation joint, cathodic protection, sectionalizing valves & appurtenances Pigging Facilities, appurtenances Pumping Facilities, Sectionalizing valves &

Main Pipeline Intermediate Pumping Station Intermediate tap-off station

Pigging Facilities, Pressure Control & Metering , Storage Tanks, Corrosion monitoring, Fire Fighting, and Electrical & Instrumentation PIG Receiver , Pressure Control & Metering, Storage Tanks, Corrosion Monitoring, Fire Fighting, Electrical & Instrumentation For Supervision Works

End Receipt Station/Terminal Telecom & SCADA

COST OF PIPELINE: The cost of pipeline depends on the various factors such as type of fluid e.g. liquid or gas, and pressure to be handled, pipe materials e.g. steel, polymer and nature of grid e.g. whether it is used for city gas distribution or it is been used in LNG terminal etc. For example the approximate cost of 12-14 diameter steel crude oil pipeline along with all its station related facilities is 1 Crore/KM with a design Life is 35 years. CONCLUSION:

In all the way we can say that pipeline is the best mode of transport of the hydrocarbon fluid provided that we have the other remaining alternate mode is available with us like other surface transportation modes e.g. through tankers by roads, through Bogie Pole Tank (BPTN) wagon in Railways and through ship by sea . But in Indian context we have not with us the adequate pipeline infrastructure or better way we can say that adequate capacity for transporting the hydrocarbon. To meet the demand supply gap or to minimization the transportation cost we have to increase pipeline capacity at least 30% of our present capacity.