Friday, December 27, 2013

Dealing With Challenges In Crude Oil Transportation

By Eugenia Dickerson


Petroleum products are at the backbone of may economies all over the world. Due to recent advances in the exploration and processing of naturally occurring reserves, the demand for petroleum has been satisfied considerably. Since demand and supply are rarely concentrated at the same point, the need for a reliable means of crude oil transportation always arises.

Pipelines are a popular means of collecting the crude from oilfields and moving it to access points from where trucks and tankers are loaded. These vessels then deliver it to secondary collection points that will supply the retail markets. This end has the refinery as one of its main features because of the sensitive nature associated with consumer products such as gasoline.

Pipelines are the ideal means of transporting petroleum because they are located underground away from curios eyes. Most field networks converge at the main collection point where the fluid is measured for consistency before being containerized. The consumer side is fitted with booster pumps at predetermined points to guarantee efficient flow to retail points. A single pipeline may be used to transfer more than one product depending on the schedule used by the controller.

Popular sources of crude such as the Latin Americas and the middle east are heavily dependent on sea transport to market their products around the world. The international trade makes use of Very Large Crude Carriers to move crude across continents. There are big pollution risks associated with tankers whenever an oil spill occurs at sea.

For this reason, many shipping companies employ collision avoidance and satellite systems to trace the current location of their ships. Developments in technology have allowed the invention of specialized tankers such as the replenishment oiler that fuels moving vessels. All stakeholders in this industry are governed by strict regulations because of the risk they pose to the environment.

As ships are quite expensive to purchase and maintain, many oil exporters will contract shipping companies to ferry their cargo to ready markets. If the agreement is voyage based, the exporter uses the vessels from the source to the destination. Where the agreement lasts for an agreed period of time, the seller must ensure that all his cargo has been delivered before the contract expires. The biggest worry for the ship owner is to maintain his fleet in working conditions as stipulated by the country in which he registers his vessels.

Tanker loading usually involves pumping fluids into the reservoirs through the cargo manifold. During this process, the vapors must be vented to the atmosphere to maintain pressure balance in the reservoirs. All ships have cargo pumps with a large capacity for the transfer of crude to offshore reservoirs at the destination. Tank cleaning is done from time to time to facilitate the handling of another product or inspection by the appointed authorities.

Sometimes, hot water may be enough to clean residues of a soluble fluid. Most crude oil transportation tankers have installed washing systems to prepare their holds for the ext cargo. To thoroughly clear remnant hydrocarbons, an inert gas is pumped in at a high pressure.




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