Warnings about the hazards of reliance on fossil fuels fill the news. Climate change, air pollution, and soaring gasoline prices are all part of the equation, and while alternative sources of energy are gaining ground, petroleum is still king. Fossil fuel products are the underpinning of the world economy, and will probably remain so until they become unprofitable. Crude oil transportation is an essential component of production.
Pipelines carry much of this toxic material. Freshly extracted petroleum is not a benign substance. Rather than being a single uniform liquid, it is a mixture of chemicals that vary according to geography. Spectacular accidents off southern Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico are recent historical illustrations of the environmental destruction a transport mishap can leave behind.
Big oil companies are an easy target to vilify, but most people have no intention or interest in divorcing themselves from the benefits oil provides. It powers our automobiles, and is used to create most plastics and other consumer products. In some areas it is still burned to generate electricity, to heat structures during winter, to move products across country, and for many related purposes.
Most easily accessed oil regions have already been exploited. Canada has experienced a production boom in the northern shale oil fields, and the United States has become a top producer once again through the development of hydraulic fracking, a method of extraction using high-pressure liquid to force deposits to the surface. Getting that oil to market without harming people or the environment has become an important issue.
High-pressure pipes are still the safest and most cost-effective method. Without them, the amount of oil produced during only one day in northern Canada would require around 15,000 heavy trucks along with nearly 5,000 railroad tank cars, an impossible undertaking. While no method guarantees complete safety, pipelines are usually routed around cities. When spills do occur, they are more easily contained.
Many big city harbors routinely host sea-going oil tankers. They carry millions of barrels of oil each day through dangerous waters, including the Persian Gulf. Comparatively speaking, industry sources put the present amount of oil floating in world oceans as a result of oil taker mishaps at about 8% of the total. That is still an enormous amount, but only a small portion of the entire problem.
Of greatest concern is the transport method that utilizes both truck and rail tankers. This burgeoning segment has grown because there is currently little pipeline infrastructure convenient to the newest production sites. Recent rail disasters in Quebec and the United States has made it necessary to notify local authorities when a shipment is scheduled. A ship explosion is costly and dangerous, but railroad tanker disasters are deadly.
Short of halting production, there is no easy solution to the problem. As regulators urge shippers to improve safety, residents adopt a not-in-my-backyard attitude, and both sides are enmeshed in political controversies that cloud the issue. The modern world is not going to stop using oil until forced to do so, and producers have the responsibility of shipping their product safely.
Pipelines carry much of this toxic material. Freshly extracted petroleum is not a benign substance. Rather than being a single uniform liquid, it is a mixture of chemicals that vary according to geography. Spectacular accidents off southern Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico are recent historical illustrations of the environmental destruction a transport mishap can leave behind.
Big oil companies are an easy target to vilify, but most people have no intention or interest in divorcing themselves from the benefits oil provides. It powers our automobiles, and is used to create most plastics and other consumer products. In some areas it is still burned to generate electricity, to heat structures during winter, to move products across country, and for many related purposes.
Most easily accessed oil regions have already been exploited. Canada has experienced a production boom in the northern shale oil fields, and the United States has become a top producer once again through the development of hydraulic fracking, a method of extraction using high-pressure liquid to force deposits to the surface. Getting that oil to market without harming people or the environment has become an important issue.
High-pressure pipes are still the safest and most cost-effective method. Without them, the amount of oil produced during only one day in northern Canada would require around 15,000 heavy trucks along with nearly 5,000 railroad tank cars, an impossible undertaking. While no method guarantees complete safety, pipelines are usually routed around cities. When spills do occur, they are more easily contained.
Many big city harbors routinely host sea-going oil tankers. They carry millions of barrels of oil each day through dangerous waters, including the Persian Gulf. Comparatively speaking, industry sources put the present amount of oil floating in world oceans as a result of oil taker mishaps at about 8% of the total. That is still an enormous amount, but only a small portion of the entire problem.
Of greatest concern is the transport method that utilizes both truck and rail tankers. This burgeoning segment has grown because there is currently little pipeline infrastructure convenient to the newest production sites. Recent rail disasters in Quebec and the United States has made it necessary to notify local authorities when a shipment is scheduled. A ship explosion is costly and dangerous, but railroad tanker disasters are deadly.
Short of halting production, there is no easy solution to the problem. As regulators urge shippers to improve safety, residents adopt a not-in-my-backyard attitude, and both sides are enmeshed in political controversies that cloud the issue. The modern world is not going to stop using oil until forced to do so, and producers have the responsibility of shipping their product safely.
About the Author:
Assigning a well-established and trustworthy crude oil transportation company is now easier than ever before thanks to the following site. To request a quote, visit this great web page at http://www.maxxonenergy.com/oil-transportation-north-dakota.html now!
0 comments:
Post a Comment