Warnings about the hazards of reliance on fossil fuels fill the news. Climate change, air pollution, and soaring gasoline prices are all part of the equation, and while alternative sources of energy are gaining ground, petroleum is still king. Fossil fuel products are the underpinning of the world economy, and will probably remain so until they become unprofitable. Crude oil transportation is an essential component of production.
The bulk of this material flows through pipelines. Newly extracted crude is far from a harmless substance. Rather than being an chemically uniform mixture, its composition varies depending on the location of the field. In recent times there have been spectacularly harmful accidents in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Alaska, illustrating the environmental damage a tanker spill or well blowout can cause.
Big oil companies are an easy target to vilify, but most people have no intention or interest in divorcing themselves from the benefits oil provides. It powers our automobiles, and is used to create most plastics and other consumer products. In some areas it is still burned to generate electricity, to heat structures during winter, to move products across country, and for many related purposes.
Most easily accessed oil regions have already been exploited. Canada has experienced a production boom in the northern shale oil fields, and the United States has become a top producer once again through the development of hydraulic fracking, a method of extraction using high-pressure liquid to force deposits to the surface. Getting that oil to market without harming people or the environment has become an important issue.
High-pressure pipes are still the safest and most cost-effective method. Without them, the amount of oil produced during only one day in northern Canada would require around 15,000 heavy trucks along with nearly 5,000 railroad tank cars, an impossible undertaking. While no method guarantees complete safety, pipelines are usually routed around cities. When spills do occur, they are more easily contained.
Ocean-going oil tankers are a familiar site at some ports, and millions of barrels each day pass through global political hot-spots such as the Straits of Hormuz. Industry figures illustrate that of all the oil floating at sea, less than 8% has been caused by tanker mishaps. That is still a huge and damaging figure, but helps see the problem from a different perspective.
Of greatest concern is the transport method that utilizes both truck and rail tankers. This burgeoning segment has grown because there is currently little pipeline infrastructure convenient to the newest production sites. Recent rail disasters in Quebec and the United States has made it necessary to notify local authorities when a shipment is scheduled. A ship explosion is costly and dangerous, but railroad tanker disasters are deadly.
Short of halting production, there is no easy solution to the problem. As regulators urge shippers to improve safety, residents adopt a not-in-my-backyard attitude, and both sides are enmeshed in political controversies that cloud the issue. The modern world is not going to stop using oil until forced to do so, and producers have the responsibility of shipping their product safely.
The bulk of this material flows through pipelines. Newly extracted crude is far from a harmless substance. Rather than being an chemically uniform mixture, its composition varies depending on the location of the field. In recent times there have been spectacularly harmful accidents in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Alaska, illustrating the environmental damage a tanker spill or well blowout can cause.
Big oil companies are an easy target to vilify, but most people have no intention or interest in divorcing themselves from the benefits oil provides. It powers our automobiles, and is used to create most plastics and other consumer products. In some areas it is still burned to generate electricity, to heat structures during winter, to move products across country, and for many related purposes.
Most easily accessed oil regions have already been exploited. Canada has experienced a production boom in the northern shale oil fields, and the United States has become a top producer once again through the development of hydraulic fracking, a method of extraction using high-pressure liquid to force deposits to the surface. Getting that oil to market without harming people or the environment has become an important issue.
High-pressure pipes are still the safest and most cost-effective method. Without them, the amount of oil produced during only one day in northern Canada would require around 15,000 heavy trucks along with nearly 5,000 railroad tank cars, an impossible undertaking. While no method guarantees complete safety, pipelines are usually routed around cities. When spills do occur, they are more easily contained.
Ocean-going oil tankers are a familiar site at some ports, and millions of barrels each day pass through global political hot-spots such as the Straits of Hormuz. Industry figures illustrate that of all the oil floating at sea, less than 8% has been caused by tanker mishaps. That is still a huge and damaging figure, but helps see the problem from a different perspective.
Of greatest concern is the transport method that utilizes both truck and rail tankers. This burgeoning segment has grown because there is currently little pipeline infrastructure convenient to the newest production sites. Recent rail disasters in Quebec and the United States has made it necessary to notify local authorities when a shipment is scheduled. A ship explosion is costly and dangerous, but railroad tanker disasters are deadly.
Short of halting production, there is no easy solution to the problem. As regulators urge shippers to improve safety, residents adopt a not-in-my-backyard attitude, and both sides are enmeshed in political controversies that cloud the issue. The modern world is not going to stop using oil until forced to do so, and producers have the responsibility of shipping their product safely.
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