MERCADOS Y OPERACIONES DE TUBERÍAS DE ACEITE
Enviado por • 13 de Julio de 2013 • 677 Palabras (3 Páginas) • 223 Visitas
OIL PIPELINE MARKETS AND OPERATIONS
INTRODUCTION
Imagine the ideal freight transportation system
of the future: merchandise would flow to market
through an extensive system of underground
conduits, leaving the nation’s highways safer
and less busy as a result. From a few highly
automated control rooms scattered around the
nation, operators would receive merchandise
from manufacturers and guide it safely along
the most economical corridors available using
the latest technologies. The physical activities
of loading, transporting, and unloading would
be fully automated and performed remotely from
the control rooms. With advanced monitoring
and scheduling technology, in-transit damage
to the merchandise would be minimal and truck
traffi c accidents would be virtually nonexistent.
The few people operating the control rooms
would be primarily mechanical or civil engineers
and information technology specialists. With
no visible presence to the general public, few
employees, and virtually no accidents, such a
transportation system would have such a low
profi le that the general public would be unaware
of its existence. Such a system would “run silent,
run deep,” as stated in the title of the well-known
1958 Clark Gable movie.
Such a futuristic system exists today. The
conduits are the U.S. crude oil and refined
products pipelines. The merchandise is many
hundred types of crude oil and refi ned products.
The shippers include thousands of oil companies,
brokers, traders, independent wholesalers (called
jobbers), airlines, railroads, and merchandisers
such as Wal-Mart, Costco, and Kroger. But
because of its very low public profi le, many
transportation professionals are only dimly
aware of its existence.
Beyond the petroleum industry, pipelines
move natural gas, anhydrous ammonia, carbon
dioxide, and bulk chemicals. Also coal, iron ore,
and copper are moved by slurry pipeline (i.e., as
small particles in an aqueous solution). There
is a growing literature and interest surrounding
slurry, pneumatic, and capsule pipelines
(Marrero, 2004; Zandi, 1982; and Round, 2003).
However, this paper confi nes itself to pipeline
movements of crude oil and refi ned products.
The goal of this article is to position the
oil pipeline industry more thoroughly with the
other transport modes. It begins with an overview
of pipelines. Then, the nature of their fi t with
the oil markets is discussed. Next, the current
competitive structure of the industry is described.
Finally pipeline operations are compared with the
operations of the other transport modes. It will be
seen that they operate in continuous flow, with
linehauls, collection/dispersion mechanisms,
and interchange activities identical to the other
modes. And yet, important differences remain.
Despite considerable literature regarding other modes of transportation, little is written about oil
pipelines. This is remarkable given that oil pipelines move 17% of all intercity ton miles, but also
understandable because they have a low public profi le and, with near total automation, have few
employees. This article attempts to bridge the gap by comparing pipeline operations and those of the
other modes, showing striking similarities along with a few signifi cant differences. It also portrays
pipeline markets and their changing trends. In recent years, oil pipelines have served an industry that
is experiencing rapidly shifting geographical markets, proliferation of new products, and outsourcing
of transportation by shippers. The pipeline industry has responded to these challenges with increased
competitive entry, numerous capital construction projects, and a high reliance on technology. These
issues, along with the regulatory constraints and responses are portrayed.
by Bradley Hull
112
Oil Pipeline Markets
OVERVIEW
Figures 1 and 2 show the extensive U.S. crude
oil and refi ned products pipelines networks,
respectively. Crude oil and refi ned products
move in separate lines to avoid contamination
issues, the lines remain full of liquid, and each
line pumps only in one direction. The lines are
owned by a large number of companies, almost
all of which are common carriers. In fact, as of
the year 2000 there were 183 common carrier
pipelines (True and Stell 2004, p. 68-71). It is
clear from the fi gures that shippers often have
multiple routing alternatives, and a single move
may require multiple carriers.
U.S. pipelines are buried and invisible to
the public (with the exception of the Alaskan
pipeline, which is above ground so as not to
melt the permafrost). Statistics comparing them
with other transportation modes are shown in
Table 1. Note that the mileage of the pipeline
infrastructure exceeds that of the National
Highway System, the Class I Railroads, and
the costal shipping routes. Pipelines moved
16.5% of the intercity ton-miles in 2001 but
account for only 1.6% of the nation’s freight
bill. Employment is only 1% of that of the
trucking industry. These are all characteristics
of the futuristic mode described above.
Figure 1: Crude Oil Pipelines of North America
Source: PennWell
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