Thursday, August 25, 2016

The Cons In Crude Oil Transportation

By Stephanie Patterson


The petroleum industry has seen many difficulties in transporting of crude oil from the port or oil well to the refineries. The challenges are random regardless the method of transporting that has been utilized. The increased production and demand for this commodity has led to increased challenges in crude oil transportation which if not brought under control promptly, they will end up causing accidents that are fatal.

Road trucks, railway tankers, water tankers and pipelines are the basic transportation methods that exist in the industry. None is short of disadvantages. However, there will be no time when these four will be replaced since they serve the industry well despite the difficulties associated with them. Moreover, they are good at complementing each other.

The pipeline has for a long time been viewed as a perfect way of delivering this commodity with minimum disturbances. However, there is the aspect of time, compared to the railway, they are extremely slow. Also, they are usually constructed out of peoples vicinity; hence, in the event of a leakage it becomes difficult to note, and the spillage can be very destructive to the environment.

In the event of water carriages, there are the water tankers which are very suitable for carrying large thousands of gallons of the commodity in just a single trip over very long distances. The problem associated with this mode is that the oil spillage experienced in the past years have been tough to handle and control. More so, this mode cannot be used in places with no water bodies.

In addition to the use of water tanker, the railway is another reliable mode. This is because minimum time can be taken to transport it in large volumes over very long distances. Despite this advantage, this mode is one of those very prone to accidents. The accidents are very dangerous since they are associated with the explosion of the product in transit.

In addition to this, most companies keep the traveling route a secret so that they avoid potential terrorist and bandits threats. Though this move is aimed and making sure that the oil is secure, if an accident occurs, emergency responders find it hard to locate the scene of the accident leading to more causalities, deaths and property destruction.

The use of road trucks is very common but the most dangerous. This is because they are very close to the general public making accidents associated to it very fatal. More so, most roads are not designed to accommodate these trucks that are why collisions are frequent. Truck drivers at times may end up over speeding jeopardizing the safety of many due to explosions and fires that destroy property and ends lives.

As earlier mentioned, these measures are very effective but at the same time prone to accidents. More so, there are no means which have the ability to replace these methods. The only way of dealing with these challenges is to ensure that there are safety measures kept in place to avoid these accidents.




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