Sunday, December 22, 2013

Understanding The Crude Oil Transportation Process

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.

From the oil field, the product is delivered via pipelines to the loading terminal for tankers or trains. These bulk movers then deliver it to the pipelines that serve the demand side of the market. Due to the sensitive nature of some end products, it is safer to refine the oil on the consumer side than to ferry them over the open seas.

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.

Unfortunately, the majority of the world supply comes from oil rich regions such as the Latin Americas, middle east and north Africa nations. Large volumes of crude are usually shipped to global markets by large oil tankers. Because these vessels hold hundreds of thousands of liters, they are governed by transportation rules applicable to ships that pose spillage risks on the seas.

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.

most oil exploiters charter renowned shipping companies to move their commodity to demand centers. The agreement may either be voyage, bareboat, time or affreightment drafted. In the former, the hiring firm leases the equipment for usage between the source and destination for his product. He may also opt to hire the vessels for a stipulated period of time during which he purports to have transferred all his cargo.

At the loading point, the cargo mover reservoirs are filled with crude oil introduced through the loading manifold. All tanks have a mechanism that periodically links to the atmosphere to regulate the pressure of the fluid being handled. At the offloading points, the onboard pumps move the crude to awaiting reservoirs offshore. Afterwards, the tank may be cleaned in readiness for the handling of the next liquefied commodity to be moved.

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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