Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Oman through the southern part of the UAE
Strategic Oil Export Networks was chosen for its relatively stable
government, its close proximity to Saudi
Arabia, and its port access to the
before crossing through Northern
Yemen. Both pipeline paths varied
significantly as I weighted the variables
Bypassing the Strait of Hormuz
Arabian Sea without the need to pass differently—for example, I downgraded
through the Strait of Hormuz. the “cost” of crossing existing roads and
Change in Elevation The second destination is Yanbu, an railroads to achieve a more accurate and
Overview existing port facility on Saudi Arabia’s less lengthy least‐cost path.
Western border along the Red Sea. This
The Strait of Hormuz is the most
pipeline would mirror the existing East‐
Limitations
important node in the global oil transit
West pipeline, enabling export to the The biggest issue is the availability
network. Nearly 35 percent of sea‐
world without crossing any national of high quality, precise data for the
borne oil passes through the Strait and
boundaries. terrain and location of environmental
a disruption would have a devastating
and human barriers. Another significant
impact on world energy markets. Outcomes limitation is the nature of weighting the
Saudi Arabia occupies a unique
The final map shows the variables—each project would weight
place in the industry because it is not
hypothetical least‐cost path for the two them differently and there is no
only the world’s largest oil producer
pipelines, based on the weighted industry standard weighting to base the
and holder of reserves, but it is the only
criteria. GIS software tabulates the analysis off of. Finally, a real world
country that can throttle production up
“cost” for each point on the map and project would take into account a higher
or down depending on demand. If
then traces backwards from the number of variables and would apply
Saudi Arabia’s oil export capabilities
destination to find the least‐cost path. other rules to help the construction
were curtailed, the price of oil would
The Abqaiq to Yanbu pipeline is phase, such as minimizing angles and
quickly skyrocket—leading to crippling
relatively direct, somewhat closely sharp turns, maximizing straight
increases in energy prices across the
following the existing pipeline. The lengths, and designing all road and
world. Saudi Arabia itself would also
Abqaiq to Mina al‐Fahal pipeline skirts utility crossings at 90 degree angles.
be in a precarious situation as the located in the eastern part of the country labor, it may be preferable if the shorter
Pipeline Planning route goes through rough terrain and
Final Pipeline Routing
government depends primarily on along the Persian Gulf. The vast
petroleum revenue to run its country. majority of its crude oil is processed in a Pipeline construction is complex high slope areas. These areas would be
This project explores Saudi Arabia’s facility in Abqaiq before being piped to and costly. The planning and design more difficult to build on and would
options for oil exports in the event of a the ports of Ras Tanura and Ras al‐ phase seeks to minimize costs and require additional operating costs
closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It uses Ju’aymah on the Persian Gulf. prevent potential disruptions during through the life of the pipeline (i.e.
Geographic Information System (GIS) construction. Factors that influence the pumping stations).
After making it to the ports, the
software to determine the least‐cost eventual route include terrain, slope, In my analysis, I chose two potential
crude oil is loaded onto large tankers
path for two hypothetical petroleum elevation, land cover, access and right pipeline paths that Saudi Arabia could
which then move through a two mile
pipelines in Saudi Arabia. of way, weather, and overall length. construct in order to ensure their oil
shipping lane in the Strait of Hormuz.
The tankers then sail through the Gulf The ideal line would be the shortest export capabilities and reduce
Where does the oil go? of Oman until reaching the Arabian Sea, path between the origin and destination dependence on export via the Strait of
Saudi Arabia produces roughly 10 when their paths diverge depending on points that successfully avoids any off‐ Hormuz. Both originate in Abqaiq,
million barrels of oil per day, yet it only their final destination. While other limits areas (for example, a populated where the vast majority of oil is
consumes about a quarter of that countries export a sizeable amount of oil area or a historic ruin) and that avoids processed to make it suitable and stable
amount. The rest of it is exported to the via pipelines, Saudi Arabia is highly challenging terrain. While adding to the for export via tanker. One destination is
world markets, mostly to the Far East. dependent on maritime exports — length of a pipeline may be costly in the port of Mina al‐Fahal, in the north of
Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas resources are primarily through the Strait of Hormuz. terms of extra materials and added
Saudi Exports
Cartographer: Stefan Wirth
Date: May 8, 2012
Class: GIS for International Applications
Instructors: Barbara Parmenter and Patrick Florance
Data Sources: Digital Chart of the World (DCW) 1992, Database of Global Administrative Areas (GADM)
version2—2010, Global Land Cover 2000, Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook—2012, Energy
Information Administration—Saudi Arabia Analysis and World Oil Transit Chokepoints—2012
Projections: WGS 1984 UTM Zone 38N