Why Pipelines?
Pipelines move nearly two-thirds of the ton-miles of oil transported annually. Pipelines are, by far, America's most important petroleum supply line, including crude oil, refined fuel and raw materials.
Practical and Safe
Because of the volume that must be transported, pipelines are the only feasible method for moving the enormous quantities of petroleum America requires to keep going each day.
- Replacing even a modest-sized pipeline, which might transport 150,000 barrels per day, would require 750 tanker truck loads per day, a load delivered every two minutes around the clock.
- Replacing the same pipeline with a railroad train of tank cars carrying 2,000 barrels each would require a 75-car train to arrive and be unloaded every day.
Pipelines are the safest method of transporting fuels, as pipelines have the least amount of releases of any transportation mode. Liquid pipeline spills along right-of-ways have decreased over the past decade, in terms of both the number of spills and the barrels of product spilled per 1,000 gmiles traveled. For every barrel of oil (42 gallons) shipped 1,000 miles, less than one teaspoon is lost from a liquid pipeline. Tell me more about pipeline safety.
In addition to the fewest releases, pipeline transportation has the lowest input energy requirements and carbon footprint as compared to other transportation modes (barge, truck, rail, and marine).
Cost Efficiency
Liquid pipelines transport more than 17 percent of freight moved in America, yet pipelines only account for 2 percent of the country's freight bill. Only 2 to 5 cents of the cost of a gallon of gas to an end-user can be attributed to pipeline transportation, resulting in a low and predictable price for their customers. Significant competition among oil pipelines and other transportation modes keeps prices reasonable.
Energy to You
Liquid pipelines bring crude oil to the nation's refineries and important petroleum products to our communities, including all grades of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, home heating oil, kerosene, propane, and biofuels. AOPL members also transport carbon dioxide to oil and natural gas fields, where it can be used efficiently to enhance production. In addition to transportation, many other industries get raw materials by pipeline, including food, drugs and pharmaceuticals, plastics, chemicals, and road construction. Almost all gasoline is transported by pipeline. Trucks you see at the local gas station usually carry gasoline only the last few miles, after picking it up from a distribution terminal. Public transportation often depends upon liquid pipelines as well - many cummuter railroads and city buses depend on the fuels we carry.
From the food and medicine we require to the cars we drive to the plastics that improve our lives - pipelines make it possible. Pipelines are a vital part of our country's infrastructure and have been quietly serving the nation for decades.
America's Supply Line Video
For an overview of the nation's petroleum pipelines (9:24 minutes), view:
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