Unit 3:

Transporting Oil
Oil pipelines
Tankers
Read the text and then
answer

the

following

questions:
a. What is one of the most
remarkable
aspects
of
the
petroleum industry?
b. What particular technical
advances have we already noted?
c. In what area have there
been
spectacular
technical
advances?
d. What has caused the
growth of tankers in recent years?
e.

Why

do

supertankers

today have many different compartments?

One of the most remarkable aspects of the oil industry has been the
speed with which it has developed the technology to increase the world's
supply of oil. We have already noted the great advances that have been
made in drilling both deeper wells and wells in difficult terrain. We have also
observed that technical advances have made it possible to recover even
larger amounts of oil from existing deposits.
One of the areas in which the technical advances have been most
spectacular is in the transportation of petroleum and petroleum
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products. Many oil fields have been discovered in places that are far from
the point at which the oil will be refined and used. One has only to think of oil
deposits on the shores of the Arctic Ocean or in the jungles on the interior
slope of the Amazon basin to realize the difficulties that are involved in
getting the oil from the well to the consumer.
Meanwhile, steel pipes that would carry the oil were being developed.
These were the first oil pipelines, which took advantage of the fact that oil
is liquid. The idea of a pipeline was not new; water had been transported
through pipes for hundreds of years. The oil pipelines were not accepted
without a struggle, however. Some men who had been hauling the oil up to
that time used explosives to blow up the newly laid lines! In the long run,
however, the pipelines offered so many advantages that they won out. The
first real long-distance pipeline was built in 1879 in Pennsylvania. It was later
extended to New York harbour at Bayonne, New Jersey, which is still an
important storage, refining, and shipping center.
It is the liquid state of oil that offers the great advantage over coal as
the primary energy source in today's industrialized world. No matter how
abundant coal is, it is bulky and heavy and therefore difficult to ship. Oil
can flow through pipelines to the market at a relatively low cost. Of course,
the oil must be pumped because the pipelines go up and down hills.
Building a pipeline
The first step in building a pipeline is
to

plan

and

survey

the

route.

The

surveying can be done not only on the

ground

but

from

the

air.

Then

the

construction crews come in with bulldozers

that clear and level the route and ditching
machines that dig a trench for the line if it
is going to run underground.

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Some pipelines run above the surface, especially in rugged or

uninhabited

areas,

but

many

others

run

beneath the ground. In farming country with

open fields, there may be no surface indication
at all of the black stream of oil under the
growing crops. However, the pipelines are
marked by pumping stations at an average
distance of about seventy-five miles-closer
together in mountainous areas, farther apart in flat countryside. Special
equipment may also be necessary for some pipelines; in Alaska, for instance,
special heating devices are required to keep the oil from freezing in the
intense cold.
Pipelines are cleaned by a device called a pig. This mechanism has
metal blades that scrape the inside of the pipe to keep it clear of the tar-like
substance that forms in it. The pressure of the oil itself forces the pig to
move through the pipe. The pig can only go from one pumping station to the
next, where it is taken out and cleaned.
Tankers
The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill occurred in Alaska, on 24
March 1989. It is considered one of the most devastating man-made
environmental disasters ever to occur at sea. As significant as the Exxon
Valdez spill was, it ranks well down on the list of the world's largest oil spills
in terms of volume released.
The transportation of
oil

has

also

led

to

the

spectacular development of
giant

ships, the largest

ships that have ever sailed

the oceans of the world. In
the last few years, since it
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has been necessary to ship oil from the Middle East-one of the world's largest
oil producing regions-around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, these
tankers have grown to almost unbelievable proportions. They weigh as much
as 500000 tons. Monsters weighing 200,000 or 250,000 tons, which would
have seemed impossible not many years ago, have become common.
The first ship specifically designed to carry oil was built in 1886. Its
distinctive feature, and that of every tanker built since then, is that the
metal plates of the ship serve also as the walls for the tanks to hold the oil.
The outer design of tankers has changed and the machinery and controls
have become enormously more sophisticated, but the basic principle of their
construction has remained the same.
The supertankers that sail the seas today have so many different
compartments that they can carry crude oil and finished products at the
same time, or even crude oil from several sources, which may be different
chemical mixtures. The crew's quarters and the bridge, from which the
captain controls the navigation of the ship, form an island - often as high as
a skyscraper - at the back of the ship.
To take care of these giants ships, special offshore facilities have
been built where the ships can load and unload. These offshore sites use
underwater pipelines to transport the oil to or from the storage areas on
shore.
Other special types of carriers

have been developed for

the

transportation of oil or oil products. On water, special barges are used for
transporting oil on sheltered or inland waterways like lakes, rivers, or canals.
They are built on the same principle as the supertankers-the wall of the ship
is also the wall of the oil tanks. The oil barges are a much more common
sight on the inland waterways of Europe than in the United States, where
much

of

the

petroleum

is

transported by pipeline.
On land, we have already
mentioned the tank cars that
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were developed early in the history of the oil industry to transport petroleum
by rail.
Today, one of the familiar sights on our highways is the tank truck,
which is a special kind of automobile used to carry petroleum or petroleum
products.
The tank truck is ordinarily used for short-haul transportation distances of a few hundred miles at the most. It usually carries oil products
from the refinery to the distributor or from the distributor to the customer.

SPEAKING: ROLE PLAY

Student A: Imagine that you work as a reporter for Engineer Live
Magazine. You are asked by your boss to write an article on transporting oil
and you have to interview the manager of an oil transport company in order
to collect data for sending your boss a draft of the article.
Student B: You are the manager of an oil transport company and you
are interviewed by a reporter working for Engineer Live who wants to find out
about ways of transporting oil.
TASK: Using the information in the text you have just read, role-play
the interview.
Fill in the spaces in
appropriate word or phrase.

the

following

sentences

with

the

1. .can be used to transport liquids or gases such

as water, petroleum, or natural gas.
2. .lines are those that connect oil fields with
refineries, shipping points, or storage areas.
3. ..lines connect wells with larger lines in the
field.
4. Because pipelines travel up and down hills, the oil must
be..
5. A trunk pipeline has a larger diameter than..lines
or.. lines.
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6. A line connects the flow lines with that

transport oil to refineries or storage areas.
7. A ..is used to transport oil on railroads.
8. A ..is used to transport oil on the highways.
9. Achecks for signs of escaping gas or seepage
from underground lines.
10.
The that cleans the pipeline is carried
along by the flow of the oil.
11. A .is a seagoing ship that is used to transport
petroleum and petroleum products.
12.
Many .that operate on inland waterways
have been specially designed to carry oil.
13.
Kerosene, gasoline, and heating oil can be transported together
in a .from the refinery to the distributor.
14.
..stations are found at an average distance
of seventy-five miles apart along a pipeline.
15.
The of a pipeline may be anywhere from
one to forty-eight inches.
Fill in the gaps with words from the box.

gathering;
flow lines;

density;

product;

leak;

benzene;
low-flying;

seepage;

refineries;
shipping points;

pipeline walker;

ports

Types of pipelines
The pipelines must be constantly checked. Each section is patrolled by
a .. who looks for evidence of a .. or
other damage in the line. It is possible to smell escaping gas or to detect
spots - where has occurred.
Nowadays,

many

"walkers"

do

their

inspecting

from

.. airplanes, since traces of seepage can be seen from

the air.

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So far, we have been describing crude oil pipelines, the lines that are
used to carry unrefined petroleum from the wells to .. or
.
There are several kinds of pipelines. . run from
the well to a large line in the field which is called a .
line. The oil is then carried into a trunk line. The trunk lines transport the oil
to refineries or to storage areas, usually at .so that
the oil can be transshipped by water.
In recent years, another type of pipeline has been developed that
carries finished products from the refineries to distribution centers. It is
called the.. pipeline. Strange as it may seem, products as
different as gasoline, .. or kerosene can be carried in the
same pipeline with only a very small amount of mixing. In part, this is
possible because the .. of each of these products is
different, and as a result there is relatively little contamination at the
interface between the two products. The rate of flow and the location of each
product can be calculated by computers according to each product's density.

VOCABULARY
Study the following words and then solve the exercises below.
Documentation
bill of lading

delivery note
envelope
picking list

packing list

Goods
cargo
Storage
depot

consignment

distribution centre

freight

forklift truck

shipment

pallet

warehouse
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Packaging
carton
Distribution
carriage
haul

crate

pack

package

carrier

import

channel
deliver
delivery
dispatch
export
forward
in transit
lading
load
shipper
unload

Means of transportation
air freight
lorry

ship

tanker

truck

van

Match the sentences with the pictures:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Heavy goods are sent by truck.

Milk is transported in a tanker.
Goods for export are being sent by ship.
Local deliveries are made in the van.
Put the documents in an envelope and send them by post.
The goods are packed in cartons.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are sent by air freight.
The goods are packed on a pallet.
These are moved using a forklift truck.

Find a word or phrase in the boxes above which means:

1. a contract with a shipper to transport goods. ____________________

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2. the control of flow of materials and goods within the factory.

____________________
3. to bring goods in from another country. ____________________
4. a place where large quantities of materials, equipment or goods are
stored until they are needed. ____________________
5. goods packed together and wrapped up ready for transportation.
__________________
6. goods carried on a plane, ship or truck. ____________________
7. the system of distribution of goods from producer to customer.
____________________
8. in the process of being transported. ____________________
9. to put goods onto a ship, lorry or plane. ____________________
10.
the act of moving goods from one place to another.
____________________

Here is an email from Woodman Ltd., a manufacturing company,

to a customer. Fill in the blanks with words from the box.
dispatched
warehouse
packing list
crate

shipped
delivery note

delivery
carrier
consignment

Ref.: MS423
Dear Clive,
We have just _________________ (a) the _________________ (b) of goods,
order no. MS423, to you. We have used our usual _________________ (c), MJ
Irving. The chairs have been packed in a wooden _________________ (d) and
marked WD MS Belfast. I am attaching the _________________ (e); the
_________________ (f) is enclosed with the goods. The crate should be
_________________ (g) to Ireland on Thursday and Irving has promised
_________________ (h) to your _________________ (i) in Belfast on Friday
morning.
Regards,
Barry

SPEAKING

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Imagine you are the CEO of United Refining Company. One day, a
delegation made up of 20 students accompanied by their University teacher
come to your office and the teacher tells you that he would like you to
explain the students the transport of oil via pipelines and other related
topics. The students have a lot of questions to ask. With the help of the
image above and the questions (you can add some more), make up a
dialogue between you and the visitors.

1. Was the idea of pipelines new?

2. What struggle accompanied the first attempts to build pipelines?
3. When and where was the first real long-distance pipeline built?
4. Why must oil be pumped through pipelines?
5. What are the pipelines that run from the well into larger lines in the
field called?
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6. What are the major lines that transport oil to refineries or shipping
points called?
7. Why is oil shipped to ports?
8. What is the first step in building a pipeline? How can this be done?
9. Where are many other pipelines? What indication may there be of
these lines?
10. What is the average distance between pumping stations? Where
are they closer? Where are they farther apart?

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