The Pipeline Transportation System:
Interstate pipelines deliver over 12.9 billion barrels (542 billion gallons) of
petroleum products each year. About 59% of the petroleum products transport by pipeline
is crude oil (7.6 billion barrels) and the remainder (5.3 billion barrels) is in
the form of refined petroleum products.* Crude oil is the raw material for making
petroleum products. Crude oil pipelines transport crude oil from onshore and offshore
production wells and from coastal shipping terminals to refineries and chemical
plants. At refineries, the oil is processed into refined products such as gasoline,
heating oil, diesel, and oil feed stocks. At chemical plants, the oil feed is processed
into resins, plastics, chemicals and agricultural products. These base products
are then manufactured into hundreds of products used in and around the home. Pipelines
also handle the second part of the transportation journey - transporting the refined
products to regional and local distributions centers. At the distribution centers,
the products are loaded on to tanker trucks for further transportation to airports,
service centers, and to your home. * Source - American Association of Oil Pipelines
(ADPL).
