Saturday, December 14, 2013

Dealing With Challenges In Crude Oil Transportation

By Eugenia Dickerson


Petroleum products are at the backbone of may economies all over the world. Due to recent advances in the exploration and processing of naturally occurring reserves, the demand for petroleum has been satisfied considerably. Since demand and supply are rarely concentrated at the same point, the need for a reliable means of crude oil transportation always arises.

Most global, oilfields are lined with pipelines that deliver the fluid to a common point for collection by trains or tankers. The product is then ferried to the consumer side of the market for collection by retailers and refiners who will add value by further processing. Because of risks associated with handling end petroleum products, it is safer to refine crude nearer the consumption points.

Pipelines are the ideal means of transporting petroleum because they are located underground away from curios eyes. Most field networks converge at the main collection point where the fluid is measured for consistency before being containerized. The consumer side is fitted with booster pumps at predetermined points to guarantee efficient flow to retail points. A single pipeline may be used to transfer more than one product depending on the schedule used by the controller.

Popular sources of crude such as the Latin Americas and the middle east are heavily dependent on sea transport to market their products around the world. The international trade makes use of Very Large Crude Carriers to move crude across continents. There are big pollution risks associated with tankers whenever an oil spill occurs at sea.

A serious investor will also facilitate the tracking and guiding of his shipping vessels through advanced satellite systems when transporting this sensitive cargo. Innovative merchant also invest in vessels such as replenishment ships that replenish moving ships without disrupting their work. There are many marine operations regulatory authorities that engage in the formulation of laws governing the industry.

most oil exploiters charter renowned shipping companies to move their commodity to demand centers. The agreement may either be voyage, bareboat, time or affreightment drafted. In the former, the hiring firm leases the equipment for usage between the source and destination for his product. He may also opt to hire the vessels for a stipulated period of time during which he purports to have transferred all his cargo.

Tanker loading usually involves pumping fluids into the reservoirs through the cargo manifold. During this process, the vapors must be vented to the atmosphere to maintain pressure balance in the reservoirs. All ships have cargo pumps with a large capacity for the transfer of crude to offshore reservoirs at the destination. Tank cleaning is done from time to time to facilitate the handling of another product or inspection by the appointed authorities.

After evacuating its cargo, the crude oil transportation reservoirs are cleaned with a suitable solvent in readiness for the next product. Some soluble residues may be cleared with hot water sprayed through nozzles at a high pressure. It is mandatory for tankers to have oil washing systems for this purpose.




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