Wednesday 18 December 2013

The Basics Of Crude Oil Transportation

By Eugenia Dickerson


In the current world, many economies are heavily dependent om petroleum products to power their industries. Technological advances have now made it possible to exploit remote minefields and deliver this precious commodity to far flung markets. The need for an efficient means of crude oil transportation has arisen because it is unlikely for the demand and supply ends of the market to be located in one place.

Most global, oilfields are lined with pipelines that deliver the fluid to a common point for collection by trains or tankers. The product is then ferried to the consumer side of the market for collection by retailers and refiners who will add value by further processing. Because of risks associated with handling end petroleum products, it is safer to refine crude nearer the consumption points.

Most crude transporters view pipelines as the safest means of ferrying the product because they are concealed from prospective vandals. From the drilling rigs, the oil is moved to a measuring and storage point ready fro collection by secondary movers. If pipelines are to be employed, booster pumps must be installed at strategic points to pressurize the fluid to its destination. It must be noted that a single pipe can ferry more than one product depending on the operation schedule.

It is quite unfortunate that the largest consumers of oil usually have to purchase it from sources located on other continents. Crude from middle east, Africa and Latin America is transported to major consumers by large tankers. Because tankers may accidentally spill some of their cargo, marine authorities all over the world have devised many stringent laws governing this sector.

It is commonplace for major shipping companies to install monitoring mechanisms on their carriers to monitor their location and to avoid catastrophic collisions on the open seas. There also exist specialized ships such as replenishment oilers that can supply moving vessels on the oceans. Nevertheless regulations governing marine transportation must be observed to minimize the risks of pollution through spillage.

Chartering can either e voyage, bareboat, time or affreightment based. Every merchant ship must have a flag state which indicates the country in which it is registered. Registration efforts are also aimed at conducting inspection of both vessels and onboard equipment to ensure it meets the stipulated safety standards. Due to the stringent nature of these standards, tankers account for the largest percentage of scrapped vessels in the world.

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.

After evacuating its cargo, the crude oil transportation reservoirs are cleaned with a suitable solvent in readiness for the next product. Some soluble residues may be cleared with hot water sprayed through nozzles at a high pressure. It is mandatory for tankers to have oil washing systems for this purpose.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment