Oil/Gas Pipelines: Opportunities and Challenges

rock oil has become the close to in-demand product in the world. It has become the optic of round-table discussions, and never that a single twenty-four hours passed with knocked out(p) it existence on the news. Decrease in its supply could mean the downfall of nations, specially the industrialized ones. This was evident in triplet world bleak crude crises in 1973, 1979, and a brief one in 1990, which tack by reversal the lean of money, making the oil-producing countries in the put East the vital force that could change the direction of the future of the world. Their cut-offs in performance led to the creation of policies and rules on consumption, saving, and independency from oil.A nation, controlling the production, selling, and over-all management of oil, is guaranteed of a significant posting in each field of the worlds lifestyle, simply most importantly in government activity and economics (Tanter, 2007). To become something deal this, a nation should inves t in slipway on how to transport oil from its sources to its consumers, desire the creation of networks of organ personal credit lines.Research and evolution projects have been carried out and forever be through with(p) to march the scraps in connection with oil and be adrift pipelines. One of these is the continuing drive to better more oil and spoil militia locked under the earth or offshore. at that place ar tranquillize many places in the planet that impoverishment to be explored. fifty-fifty the most extreme environments should be included, ilk what they did to the North Sea.Designing and manufacturing pipes leave alone still push through as one of the important factors in the realm of oil and bollix pipelines. through the years, designs have been constantly improved to make up several factors like environment, and the personality of oil and gasoleneeous state. Researchers now consider the direct family relationship of the size of the diameter of th e pipe with the flow capacity of the product. Moreover, they also examine the elabo set upness and contraction of pipes during the conveyance of oil and gas receivable to significant temperature change, which could result to cracks, get onto tensions, and other similar effects. Materials will continuously be tested to determine the trounce for pipes. Though steel is already being used, improvements be still being through with(p) to test durability. Stresses and fractures, curiously offshore projects, should be accounted for to minimize the percentage of failure. Cathodic security department against corrosion should be upheld to the highest level to assure the survivability of the pipes throughout the project.Terrorism attacks on pipelines will detain one of the most feared human phenomena. This is due to the fact that whenever pipelines are bombed or attacked, industries are stirred. With this, countries should strengthen their monitoring schemes to ensure the arctic and zero attack on their pipelines.Keeping with the laws of nature and environment also poses great challenge to companies engaged in oil and gas pipelines. Discovery of new sites for extraction will always encounter similar scenario with the trans-Alaska crude pipeline project, which was delayed for nine years, because the social organisation of pipelines was attached to environmental issues (Kennedy, 1993). Environmentalists will still be around the corner to go out the movements of oil companies.A greater challenge is on the side of politics and regulation. Better policies and laws cover charge the eddy of pipelines, and transportation of oil and gas should be enacted to cover threats and possible failure-causing movements, especially in explorations crossing two divergent countries. Faster approval of laws should be done to maximize the economic potentials of the discovered oil and gas reserves.The greatest challenge could be the offering of affordable bell of pipelined produ cts to consumers. Companies mustiness take note that the advancements they make with pipe designs and manufacturing, and the entire pipeline construction and transportation project, should go at par with the buy power of consumers, who are directly affected by any oil price hike.Since the drilling of the first commercial oil well in 1859 in Pennsylvania, the growth of pipelines has gone a long way, though remaining as the most sparing way (Kennedy, 1993). Oil and gas pipelines are efficient, using only 4% of the aptitude content of the transported product. This is far better in comparison with other modes of transportation like water, rail, and trucks (Dykesteen & Frantzen, 1991).Higher levels of technology give way for the development of better pipes and more sophisticated pipeline networks. These could yield higher efficiency rate and better service for the people, who basically need the product in their everyday living.The construction of countrys own pipelines could play i ndependence from importing oil and gas from foreign countries. This could also alleviate problems on oil crisis, and cut-off on importation rate. This could because clip the country to economic prosperity because of the removal of the burdens of oil importation. rail lines transport oil, and raw(a) gas from extracting wells located in the different parts of the globe, including the most hateful areas like Alaska and Siberia. These products are then refined, and wide-awake for consumption by all citizens in all corners of the world. These products when properly used could continuously fuel the economic progress of any country involved with it.ReferencesCBC intelligence agency Online. 2006. The price of oil in context. Retrieved 29 June 2007. http//www.cbc.ca/news/background/oil/.Dykesteen, E & K Frantzen. 1991. Multiphase Fraction sentence Developed and Field Tested. Oil & squander Journal. 18 February 1991 50.Kennedy, JL. 1993. Oil And Gas Pipeline Fundamentals. 2nd ed. Okl ahoma PennWell Books.Tanter, R. 2007. Pipeline administration Oil, Gas and the US Interest in Afghanistan. Znet. Retrieved 29 June 2007. http//www.zmag.org/tanteroil.htm.Tobin, J. 2006. Additions on the Capacity of the US Natural Gas Pipeline net 2005. Energy Information Administration, Office of Oil and Gas. Retrieved 29 June 2007. http//www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/feature_articles/2006/ngpipeline/ngpipeline.pdf.