PEE 5205: Petroleum Transport and Storage

Contents: Transportation of crude oil: pipelines; tankers-loading and unloading techniques.

Offshore loading systems, international regulations on tanker transportation. Custody transfer,
storage of crude oil, tank farm operations-gauging, sampling, quality control; underground
storage-caverns, porous rocks. Gas transportation: compressors, pipelines. Liquefied natural gas
transportation. Storage of natural gas; pressure tanks, re-injection in porous rocks, storage in
caverns. Storage of LNG.

Outline First Section

1. Transportation of crude oil:

- pipelines;
- tankers-loading and unloading techniques.
2. Offshore loading systems, international regulations on tanker transportation. Custody
transfer
3. Storage of crude oil,
- Tank farm operations: -gauging, sampling, quality control;

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PART 1: TRANSPORTATION OF CRUDE OIL

CHAPTER 1: PIPELINES
1.1 Introduction
Crude oil, petroleum products of natural gas are all moved by:
1- Pipelines; 2- Barges; 3- Tankers; 4- Railway tank cars; and 5- Track
Once oil and gas are located and the well is successfully drilled and completed, the product
must be transported to a facility where it can be produced/treated, stored, processed, refined, or
transferred for eventual sale. The typical system begins at the well flow-control device on the
producing “wing(s)” of the wellhead tree and includes the well “flowline,”
production/treating/storage equipment, custody-transfer measurement equipment, and the
gathering or sales Pipeline.
The piping and pipeline systems typically associated with producing wells include, but are
not limited to, the well flowline, interconnecting equipment piping within the production
“battery,” the gathering or sales pipeline, and the transmission pipeline.

1.2: Classification of pipelines

1. Well Flowline. The well flowline, or simply flowline, is the first “pipeline” system
connected to the wellhead. Flowlines are used as part of a crude gathering system in
production areas to move produced fluids (e.g., oil, gas, and production water) from
individual wells to a central point in the field for treating and storage. Flowlines are generally
small-diameter pipelines operating at relatively low pressure.
2. Interconnecting Piping. Interconnecting piping includes the piping between the various
pieces of production/treating equipment such as production separators, line heaters, oil
heaters, pump units, storage tanks, and gas dehydrators. The piping systems may also
include headers, fuel systems, other utility piping, and pressure-relief/flare systems.
3. Gathering/Sales Pipeline. The pipe that delivers the well production to some
intermediate or terminal location is the gathering or sales pipeline. The gathering pipeline
literally “gathers” the production from producing wells and conveys the production to a
collection system, a processing facility, custody-transfer (sales) point, or other.
4. Transmission Pipeline. The transmission pipeline is a “cross-country” pipeline that is
specifically designed to transport petroleum products long distances. The transmission
pipeline collects the specific petroleum products from many “supply” sources along the
pipeline (such as gathering pipelines) and “delivers” the product to one or more end users.
There are three general categories of transmission pipelines: natural gas, “product,” and
crude oil. Natural-gas transmission pipelines carry only natural gas. Product pipelines may
carry a number of processed or refined petroleum products such as processed natural-gas
liquids (e.g., butane and propane), gasoline, diesel, and refined fuel oils. Crude-oil pipelines

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convey unrefined crude oil from producing areas to large storage areas or directly to
refineries (Fig.1.1).

Figure 1.1 Uses of offshore pipelines (Guo et ai.,2005)

1.2 PIPELINE OPERATIONS

The three major pipeline operations are: pipeline control, pumping stations and delivery
terminals. Storage, cleaning, communication and shipment are also important functions.

1. Pipeline control: Regardless of the product being transported, the size and length of the
pipeline or the terrain, pipeline pumping stations, pressures and flow rates are
completely controlled in order to ensure appropriate flow rates and continuous
operations. Typically an operator and computer controls the pumps, valves end
regulators throughout the pipelines system from a central location.
2. Oil pumping stations: Crude oil and petroleum products pumping stations are located at
wellheads and along the pipeline route as needed to maintain pressure and volume.
Pumps are driven by electric motors or diesel engines, and turbine.
3. Pipeline product storage. Crude and petroleum product pipeline terminals have
breakout storage tanks to which shipments may be diverted, where they are held until
required by a refinery, terminal or user.
4. Pipeline cleaning. Pipelines are cleaned on a scheduled basis or as necessary in order to
continue flow by reducing friction and maintaining as large a diameter interior as
possible. A special cleaning device, called a pig or go-devil is used.
5. Communications: It is important that there be communication and agreement
concerning schedules, pumping rates and pressures and emergency procedures
between pipeline stations and operators and those shipping and receiving crude oil, gas
and petroleum products.
Some pipelines companies have private telephone systems which transmit the signal
along the pipeline, while others use radios or public telephones.
6. Petroleum product shipment: Petroleum products may be shipped a number of
different ways on pipelines. A company operating a refinery may blend a specific grade

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of its own gasoline with appropriate additives (additive) and ship a batch through a
pipeline directly to its own terminal for distribution to its customers.

1.3 Pipelines design and construction

1.3.1 Pipelines design– General Pipeline Design Considerations

The major steps in pipeline system design involve establishment of critical pipeline
performance objectives and critical engineering design parameters such as:

• Required throughput (volume per unit time for most petroleum products;
pounds per unit time for petrochemical feedstocks);
• Origin and destination points;
• Product properties such as viscosity and specific gravity;
• Topography of pipeline route;
• Maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP); and
• Hydraulic calculations to determine:
• Pipeline diameter, wall thickness, and required yield strengths;
• Number of, and distance between, pump stations; and
• Pump station horsepower required.

Safety
Safety in pipeline design and construction is achieved by the proper design and
application of the appropriate codes and system hardware components.

Pipeline Coating
Corrosion-resistant coatings are applied to the exteriors of most pipes to inhibit corrosion.
These may be applied at the manufacturing plant or a pipe coating plant located separately.
However, coatings are also sometimes applied at the construction site. Even for precoated
pipe, field dressings of joints and connections are also performed at the construction site just
prior to burial. For particularly corrosive products (including some crude oils with high total acid
numbers), pipes are also sometimes coated on the inside for corrosion resistance. In addition
to the resistance to corrosion they provide, some interior coatings are also designed to reduce
frictional losses between the product and the interior walls of the pipe, thereby reducing the
total amount of energy required to move the materials along the pipeline.

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Figure 2: Coating Newly Installed Pipe for Corrosion

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Other Design Considerations

Product Qualities
• Specific Gravity/Density
• Compressibility
• Temperature
• Viscosity
• Pour Point
• Vapor Pressure
• Reynolds Number
• Darcy Friction Factor
Movements at Pipe Bends
Mine Subsidence
Effects of Nearby Blasting
Earthquakes and Landslides

Leak Detection

The method of leak detection selected for a pipeline depends on a variety of factors
including pipeline characteristics, product characteristics, instrumentation and
communications capabilities, and economics (Muhlbauer 1996).
Small leaks on large pipelines are very difficult to detect through these automated
and measurement methods.However, the chosen system should include as many of the
following desirable leak detection utilities as possible (API 1995a):

• Possesses accurate product-release alarming,

• Possesses high sensitivity to product release,
• Allows for timely detection of product release,
• Offers efficient field and control center support,
• Requires minimum software configuration and tuning,
• Requires minimum impact from communication outages,
• Accommodates complex operating conditions,
• Is available during transients,
• Is configurable to a complex pipeline network,
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• Performs accurate imbalance calculations on flow meters,
• Is redundant,
• Possesses dynamic alarm thresholds,
• Possesses dynamic line pack constant,
• Accommodates product blending,
• Accounts for heat transfer,
• Provides the pipeline system’s real-time pressure profile,
• Accommodates slack-line and multiphase flow conditions,
• Accommodates all types of liquids,
• Identifies leak location,
• Identifies leak rate,
• Accommodates product measurement and inventory compensation for various
corrections (i.e., temperature, pressure, and density), and
• Accounts for effects of drag-reducing agent.

Overpressure Protection
A pipeline operator typically conducts a surge analysis to ensure that the surge pressure
does not exceed 110% of the maximum operating pressure (MOP). The pressure-relief system
must be designed and operated at or below the MOP except under surge conditions. In a
blocked line, thermal expansion is a concern, especially if the line is above ground.

Valve Spacing and Rapid Shutdown

The spacings of valves and other devices capable of isolating any given segment of a
pipeline are driven by two principal concerns: (1) maintaining the design operating conditions
of the pipeline with respect to throughput and flexibility and (2) facilitate maintenance or
repairs without undue disruption to pipeline operation and rapid shutdown of pipeline
operations during upset or abnormal conditions. Valve spacing and placement along the
mainline are often selected with the intention of limiting the maximum amount of material in
jeopardy of release during upset conditions or to isolate areas of critical environmental
concern to the greatest extent possible. Valves designed to prevent the backward flow of
product in the event of a pump failure (check valves) will also be installed in critical locations.

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Valves may also be required on either side of an exceptionally sensitive environmental area
traversed by the pipeline. Finally, valves will be installed to facilitate the introduction and
recovery of pigs for pipeline cleaning and monitoring. They also are required to be installed
at river crossings over 100 feet wide. The design of these must comply with regulations and
industry best practices.

Pumps and Pumping Stations

Desired material throughput values as well as circumstantial factors along the pipeline
route are considered in designing and locating pump stations. Desired operating pressures
and grade changes dictate individual pump sizes and acceptable pressure drops (i.e., the
minimum line pressure that can be tolerated) along the mainline; grade changes also dictate
the placements of the pump stations. Pump stations are often fully automated, but can also be
designed to be manned and to include ancillary functions such as serving as pig launching or
recovery facilities or serving as the base from which inspections of mainline pipe are
conducted.

Distribution Terminals

Marketing and distribution terminals temporarily store products removed from the
pipeline. There also may be loading racks and transfer operations. In most instances, terminals
are proximate to, but not necessarily within the pipeline ROW, even if the terminal is owned
and operated by the pipeline operator.

Measurement and Flow Control

SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) and Telecommunication Towers are
used. A typical SCADA system collects data from, and supervises control of, third-party
programmable logic controllers at each of the pipeline’s pumping stations, mainline valves,
and other areas where monitoring of critical conditions takes place.

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1.3.2 Pipeline construction
Avoid the following areas during pipeline construction:
- Swamps and Wetlands
- Rocky areas
- Unstable soil
- Populated areas
- Historical areas
- Environmentally sensitive areas (Forest, Tea garden, Rubber garden etc.)
- Religious sensitive areas ( Churches, Mosque , Graveyard, temple etc.)
During pipeline construction, the following processes and procedures are followed:
1. Surveying. The right-of-way (ROW) is a narrow strip of land that contains the pipeline(s)
and is where all onsite construction activities occur. After a planned or proposed route
is determined, it is surveyed to determine the parameters that will be needed to complete
the project.
2. Clearing & Grubbing. The Rout is cleared of brush and trees, and levelled to give workers
and equipment access to build, inspect and maintain the pipeline.
3. Stringing pipe joints along the ROW.: Stringing is the delivery and distribution of line pipe
where it is needed on the right-of-way and when it is needed.
4. Welding. A technique where another metal is melted and used to join lengths of pipe.
Automatic welding machines are used where possible and some hand welding also takes
place. A rigorous quality assurance and quality control program is followed to ensure the
strength and quality of the welding.

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5. Digging the trench: The way the trench or ditch is dug, and what equipment is used,
depends mainly on the type of soil. Alternates include bucket wheel trenchers. Other
digging equipment will include backhoes or track hoes.
6. Lowering the pipe. Tractors with special arms called side booms are used to lower the pipe
into the trench. Care is taken to avoid damaging the pipe and its exterior coating.
7. Installing valves and special fittings. Valves and other connections are part of a pipeline.
These assemblies are installed as the pipeline is constructed. They include shut-off valves
that can block off sections of the pipeline for maintenance.
8. Backfilling the trench. Before testing the pipeline, the ditch is backfilled. Sometimes the
excavated soil is used to fill the trench and sometimes other selected backfill is used. Care is
taken to protect the pipe coating from potential damage.
9. Testing. A variety of methods will be used to ensure the integrity of the assembled pipeline
and to comply with code. Some of the test include; ultrasonic test or radiographic test.
10. Cleaning up. The pipeline right-of-way and temporary facilities such as camps will be
reclaimed.

1.4 Corrosion of pipelines and its detection.

1.4.1 External Corrosion: Most transmission pipelines are buried in the ground and are made of
carbon steel. External corrosion is caused by electrochemical interaction between the pipe and the
surrounding environment (soil in the case of buried pipes). Operators try to prevent external
corrosion by coating the pipe with a corrosion resistant material (such as epoxy) and by applying
an external voltage source to the pipe (cathodic protection). Although pipelines are coated and
under cathodic protection, corrosion can still occur. This may occur through a process called
cathodic disbandment (loosening of the coating from pipe).

1.4.2 Internal Corrosion: It occurs when there is significant water content mixed in with the fuel
flowing through the pipe. In large transmission pipeline, it is often required that oil contain no
more than 0.5% water so that the pipe content is not corrosive.

1.4.3 Corrosion pits

Corrosion pits are much localised corrosion defects, or small pits in the metal of the pipe.
Unchecked corrosion pits can result in a pipeline leaking.

1.4.4 How to detect corrosion in pipelines: Corrosion can be detected using intelligent pigs (pig
magnets). It can also determine the size of dents in a pipeline, and determine changes in alignment
of the pipeline. The latter can impose a strain in the pipeline that might lead to leak or a buckle in
the pipeline body. They use either ultrasonic technology or electromagnetic technology.

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Corrosion inside pipelines usually occurs in areas where deposits of sludge build up. Sludge is
comprised of sediments and bacteria that can grow in small pockets of water. At the temperatures
at which crude oil and diluted bitumen are transported through pipelines, heavy crudes are no
more corrosive than light crudes. If crude is found to be corrosive, a chemical corrosion inhibitor
can be injected into the stream to remove this corrosion.

1.5 How to clean pipelines

The different methods of cleaning pipes are;
1. Cleaning by Quenching: Filling of the whole pipeline with chemical product, to allow it to work
passively. Quenching time depends on product concentration, and nature deposit.

2. Cleaning by Batch: introduce a predetermined volume of chemical product between one (or
more) bi- directional pigs, in order to dissolve and carry deposits (Fig.1.2). This solution needs a
perfect sealing capacity of pig to be efficient.

Figure 1.2 - pipeline cleaning by batch

3. Mechanical Pigging: This is by the use of specialised pigging like gel pigging. Their function is as
follows; allows the cleaning of the non-piggable pipelines; can carry high quantities of sand,
deposits or dust without blocking because those products are in suspension in the gel.

1.6 Environmental impact

Because of the large volumes of products which are transported by pipelines on a
continuous basis, there is opportunity for environmental releases. Roughly 9 leaks and spills per
year happened along pipelines while about 44 occurred in facilities such as compressors or pump
station between 2006 and 2010 in Canada.
Internal corrosion, external corrosion, external intervention, soil displacement such as
landslides, material defects, and system malfunctions can cause leaks and ruptures. Usually,
majority of leaks are related to pump stations and valves, rather than the body of the pipeline. In
general, corrosion accounts for about 20% to 30% of pipeline leaks.

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1.7 Challenges Faced by Industries in Managing Corrosion of Pipelines

▪ The difficulty to identify internal corrosion

▪ The difficulty to manage the water that is being transported along with the
crude oil which is then responsible for the corrosion that occurs if in
contact with the pipeline wall. Heavier crudes entrain the water than
lighter crudes which is beneficial for corrosion protection.

Case study: the chad- Cameroon pipeline

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