Pipeline Transportation

Introduction to Pipeline Transportation

CHARACTERISTICS OF PIPELINE

TRANSPORTATION An unique mode of transportation They can move large quantities of certain types of

commodities, mainly fluids, over long distances at relatively low cost

The operations are environmentally friendly, dependable and continuous

The pipelines can be laid on a wide variety of terrains without much difficulty.

COMPARED TO NORMAL SURFACE MODE LIKE RAILWAYS AND ROAD VEHICLES

THE FOLLOWING ADVANTAGES

They do not require the return of ‘empties’ to the starting point and as such are ideal for un-directional traffic.

They are insensitive to surface conditions such as storms, inclement weather, etc.

Operating costs are low. They are environmentally friendly.

PIPELINE TECHNOLOGY CAN BE BROADLY CLASSIFIED INTO THREE

CATEGORIES:

Conventional or ‘energy’ pipelines Slurry pipelining Capsule pipelining

OIL AND NATURAL GAS PIPELINES

PIPELINES FOR OTHER LIQUIDS

Water Pipeline ANCIENT Romans made used of large

aqueducts to transport the water. The hundreds of their were built

throughout Europe

BEER PIPELINES

IRAN-PAKISTAN-INDIA GAS PIPELINE

PROJECT Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project of 27755Km.

proposed to deliver the natural gas from Iran to Pakistan & India.

Cost of the project – US $7 billion. India is predicted to required 400 million cubic meter

of gas per day by 2025.

GAS AUTHORITY OF INDIA LTD - PIPELINE

NAME

PROGRAMME

PURPOSE

SUCCESS STORY OF NUMALIGARH REFINERY LTD

The Refinery feeds the countries's never- satisfyable need for petroleum products. Despite a crude allocation of 2.80 MT last year the plant had to restrict processing to only 2.28 MT

For NRL, the most-dreaded impact at this time of the year is that the raging river -- as it makes its way down to the Bay of Bengal -- overflows onto the railway tracks. It affecting all links between NRL's processing facilities and the product markets in mainland India.

Even during the rest of the year which is marked by normal weather, the railways are unable to supply adequate rakes to NRL -- on the single-track railway line -- in order to ensure adequate evacuation.

Therefore, that Numaligarh has tied up with another company in the north-east, Oil Indian Ltd (OIL), to build a 660 km product pipeline -- with a capacity to move 1.72 MT of diesel and petrol -- linking Numaligarh with Siliguri in West Bengal.

The impact of the pipeline on NRL

The railways were carrying only 1.21 MT of products up to Siliguri. With the pipeline in place, 1.72 MT of the refinery's total output would get delivered to the markets in the East and the North.

With the pipeline in place, the profitability of NRL is expected to go up by as much as 150 crore annually because of higher capacity utilisation and lower transportation cost. .

The pipeline is not easily susceptible to damage from the Monsoon-driven waters of the Brahmaputra.

The Barauni-Kanpur pipeline, for instance, the operating cost is a mere Rs 191 per tonne of product, whereas the railway freight per tonne for the 649 km distance is a mere Rs 926 per tonne.

In the case of the Chennai-Trichi-Madurai pipeline -- to be commissioned in mid-2005 -- the railway freight is likely to be around Rs 728/tonne for a distance of around 500 km whereas the operating cost of the pipeline for the distance is expected to be only Rs 66.30 per tonne.

CONCLUSION