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).