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Transportation and storage of crude oil and natural gas

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TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE OF
CRUDE OIL AND NATURAL GAS

Dr. Osama Shaltami

Department of Earth Sciences
Faculty of Science, Benghazi University, Libya
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Before the refining process can take place, first the crude oil must be
transported to a refinery. It is generally the case that all crude oils,
natural gas, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and
petroleum products flow through pipelines at some time in their
migration from the well to a refinery or gas plant, then to a terminal and
eventually to the consumer.
Introduction
Aboveground, underwater and underground pipelines, varying in size
from several centimeters to a meter or more in diameter, move vast
amounts of crude oil, natural gas, LHGs and liquid petroleum products.
Pipelines run throughout the world, from the frozen tundra of Alaska and
Siberia to the hot deserts of the Middle East, across rivers, lakes, seas,
swamps and forests, over and through mountains and under cities and
towns. Although the initial construction of pipelines is difficult and
expensive, once they are built, properly maintained and operated, they
provide one of the safest and most economical means of transporting
these products.
Introduction
The first successful crude-oil pipeline, a 5-cm-diameter wrought iron
pipe 9 km long with a capacity of about 800 barrels a day, was opened in
Pennsylvania (US) in 1865. Today, crude oil, compressed natural gas and
liquid petroleum products are moved long distances through pipelines at
speeds from 5.5 to 9 km per hour by large pumps or compressors located
along the route of the pipeline at intervals ranging from 90 km to over
270 km. The distance between pumping or compressor stations is
determined by the pump capacity, viscosity of the product, size of the
pipeline and the type of terrain crossed. Regardless of these factors,
pipeline pumping pressures and flow rates are controlled throughout the
system to maintain a constant movement of product within the pipeline.
 THE ROLE OF
TRANSPORTATIO
N IN THE OIL AND
GAS INDUSTRY
The Role of Transportation in the Oil Industry
Here are some of the most popular ways of transporting crude oil and gas
across the world:
1) Trucks.
2) Pipelines.
3) Ocean.
4) Rail.
The Role of Transportation in the Oil Industry
1) Trucks
The easiest and most utilized form of transportation in the oil and gas
industry is trucking. With on-the-road transportation, you can schedule
shipments at any time and move them at any place. This advantage
makes trucking way more beneficial than other transportation modes.
Also, it moves smaller amounts of oil, meaning that the extent of damage
in case of cracks or leaks is relatively small. Additionally, there are
various types of trucks that can perfectly suit the needs of the industry.
The Role of Transportation in the Oil Industry
1) Trucks
a) Flatbeds are open trailers that are commonly used for oil and gas
equipment shipping because they let you move loads of any size and
shape. Rigs, pipes, and drilling equipment are usually oversized and
overweight, which makes it hard to move via any other transportation
method except a specialized truck.
b) Hotshots are trailers connected to a pick-up truck that is made for
moving small and urgent shipments. Whenever you need to quickly
transport a piece of equipment to a remote site, hotshot is a perfect
option.
The Role of Transportation in the Oil Industry
1) Trucks
c) Oil tankers are special cylindrical containers connected to trucks.
Tankers are adjusted to moving liquids, and they are good for moving oil
as well. Although you cannot ship a large volume of oil through the
truck, the vehicle can take it to any destination you need.
Oil Truck
The Role of Transportation in the Oil Industry
2) Pipelines
This transportation method suggests that oil is gathered and then
transported directly to the site or plant via a pipeline network. Despite
pipeline shipping being a hot topic of discussions between industry
experts, it is a fast and reliable way to distribute oil. New technology
helps advance the safety of this mode, and pipelines have sensors for
monitoring important indicators like temperature, pressure, etc.
The Role of Transportation in the Oil Industry
2) Pipelines
Pipeline transportation has its disadvantages. Firstly, it limits areas and
destinations you can ship to because the pipeline infrastructure is not
developed enough. Additionally, pipelines move enormous amounts of
oil, so when an accident happens, the damage is very serious and it’s
often hard to liquidate the consequences.
Oil Pipeline
The Role of Transportation in the Oil Industry
3) Ocean
Ships are a slow, inexpensive, reliable way to move extremely large
volumes of fuel. Ocean transportation has one big advantage over other
shipping methods, which is that you can transport materials globally.
Despite longer transit, it is the most efficient mode for moving oil across
the world. Essentially, ocean shipping is mostly used as a part of a large
intermodal strategy.
Transporting Oil by Sea
The Role of Transportation in the Oil Industry
4) Rail
Rail transport was a primary way to move oil for more than 150 years.
Rail transportation makes oil containers less prone to damage compared
to other shipping modes. This method doesn’t have enough flexibility to
move oil at any point. But, when combined with other modes, rail can be
extremely beneficial for a fairly fast and cost-effective way to move oil
long-distance.
Oil Train
 MARINE
TANKERS AND
BARGES
Marine Tankers and Barges
The majority of the world's crude oil is transported by tankers from producing
areas such as the Middle East and Africa to refineries in consumer areas such
as Europe, Japan and the United States. Oil products were originally
transported in large barrels on cargo ships. The first tanker ship, which was
built in 1886, carried about 2,240 pounds per ton of oil. Today's supertankers
can be over 300 m long and carry almost 200 times as much oil. Gathering
and feeder pipelines often end at marine terminals or offshore platform
loading facilities, where the crude oil is loaded into tankers or barges for
transport to crude trunk pipelines or refineries. Petroleum products also are
transported from refineries to distribution terminals by tanker and barge. After
delivering their cargoes, the vessels return in ballast to loading facilities to
repeat the sequence.
Oil tankers and barges are vessels designed with the engines and quarters at
the rear of the vessel and the remainder of the vessel divided into special
compartments (tanks) to carry crude oil and liquid petroleum products in
bulk. Cargo pumps are located in pump rooms, and forced ventilation and
inerting systems are provided to reduce the risk of fires and explosions in
pump rooms and cargo compartments. Modern oil tankers and barges are built
with double hulls and other protective and safety features required by the
United States Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) tanker safety standards. Some new ship designs extend
double hulls up the sides of the tankers to provide additional protection.
Generally, large tankers carry crude oil and small tankers and barges carry
petroleum products.
Types of Oil Tankers
1) Supertankers
Ultra-large and very large crude carriers (ULCCs and VLCCs) are
restricted by their size and draft to specific routes of travel. ULCCs are
vessels whose capacity is over 300,000 SDWTs, and VLCCs have
capacities ranging from 160,000 to 300,000 SDWTs. Most large crude
carriers are not owned by oil companies, but are chartered from
transportation companies which specialize in operating these super-sized
vessels.
Supertanker
2) Oil Tankers
Oil tankers are smaller than VLCCs, and, in addition to ocean travel,
they can navigate restricted passages such as the Suez and Panama
Canals, shallow coastal waters and estuaries. Large oil tankers, which
range from 25,000 to 160,000 SDWTs, usually carry crude oil or heavy
residual products. Smaller oil tankers, under 25,000 SDWT, usually carry
gasoline, fuel oils and lubricants.
Oil Tanker
3) Barges
Barges operate mainly in coastal and inland waterways and rivers, alone
or in groups of two or more, and are either self-propelled or moved by
tugboat. They may carry crude oil to refineries, but more often are used
as an inexpensive means of transporting petroleum products from
refineries to distribution terminals. Barges are also used to off-load cargo
from tankers offshore whose draft or size does not allow them to come to
the dock.
Oil Barge
4) Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)
Marine Vessels
Liquefied natural gas is shipped as a cryogenic gas in specialized marine
vessels with heavily insulated compartments or reservoirs. At the
delivery port, the LNG is off-loaded to storage facilities or regasification
plants. Liquefied petroleum gas may be shipped both as a liquid in
uninsulated marine vessels and barges and as a cryogenic in insulated
marine vessels. Additionally, LPG in containers (bottled gas) may be
shipped as cargo on marine vessels and barges.
LNG And LPG Marine Vessels
The three types of marine vessels used for transport of LPG and LNG
are:
1) Vessels with reservoirs pressurized up to 2 mPa (LPG only).
2) Vessels with heat-insulated reservoirs and a reduced pressure of 0.3 to
0.6 mPa (LPG only).
3) Cryogenic vessels with heat-insulated reservoirs pressurized close to
atmospheric pressure (LPG and LNG).
Liquid Natural Gas Carrier
TANK STORAGE
OF LIQUID
PETROLEUM
PRODUCTS
Crude oil, gas, LNG and LPG, processing additives, chemicals and
petroleum products are stored in aboveground and underground
atmospheric (non-pressure) and pressure storage tanks. Storage tanks are
located at the ends of feeder lines and gathering lines, along truck
pipelines, at marine loading and unloading facilities and in refineries,
terminals and bulk plants. This section covers aboveground atmospheric
storage tanks in refinery, terminal and bulk plant tank farms.
(Information concerning aboveground pressure tanks is covered below,
and information concerning underground tanks and small aboveground
tanks is in the article %quot;Motor vehicle fuelling and servicing
operations".)
Terminals
Terminals are storage facilities which generally receive crude oil and
petroleum products by trunk pipeline or marine vessel. Terminals store
and redistribute crude oil and petroleum products to refineries, other
terminals, bulk plants, service stations and consumers by pipelines,
marine vessels, railroad tank cars and tank trucks. Terminals may be
owned and operated by oil companies, pipeline companies, independent
terminal operators, large industrial or commercial consumers or
petroleum product distributors.
Bulk Plants
Bulk plants are usually smaller than terminals and typically receive
petroleum products by rail tank car or tank truck, normally from
terminals but occasionally direct from refineries. Bulk plants store and
redistribute products to service stations and consumers by tank truck or
tank wagon (small tank trucks of approximately 9,500 to 1,900 l
capacity). Bulk plants may be operated by oil companies, distributors or
independent owners.
Tank Farms
Tank farms are groupings of storage tanks at producing fields, refineries, marine,
pipeline and distribution terminals and bulk plants which store crude oil and
petroleum products. Within tank farms, individual tanks or groups of two or more
tanks are usually surrounded by enclosures called berms, dykes or fire walls.
These tank farm enclosures may vary in construction and height, from 45-cm earth
berms around piping and pumps inside dykes to concrete walls that are taller than
the tanks they surround. Dykes may be built of earth, clay or other materials; they
are covered with gravel, limestone or sea shells to control erosion; they vary in
height and are wide enough for vehicles to drive along the top. The primary
functions of these enclosures are to contain, direct and divert rain water, physically
separate tanks to prevent the spread of fire in one area to another, and to contain a
spill, release, leak or overflow from a tank, pump or pipe within the area.
Tank Farms
Dyke enclosures may be required by regulation or company policy to be
sized and maintained to hold a specific amount of product. For example,
a dyke enclosure may need to contain at least 110% of the capacity of the
largest tank therein, allowing for the volume displaced by the other tanks
and the amount of product remaining in the largest tank after hydrostatic
equilibrium is reached. Dyke enclosures may also be required to be
constructed with impervious clay or plastic liners to prevent spilled or
released product from contaminating soil or groundwater.
Storage Tanks
There are a number of different types of vertical and horizontal
aboveground atmospheric and pressure storage tanks in tank farms,
which contain crude oil, petroleum feedstocks, intermediate stocks or
finished petroleum products. Their size, shape, design, configuration, and
operation depend on the amount and type of products stored and
company or regulatory requirements. Aboveground vertical tanks may be
provided with double bottoms to prevent leakage onto the ground and
cathodic protection to minimize corrosion. Horizontal tanks may be
constructed with double walls or placed in vaults to contain any leakage.
Tank Farm
TRANSPORTATION
AND STORAGE OF
NATURAL GAS
Natural Gas Processing
Natural-gas processing is a done with process designed to clean raw
natural gas by separating impurities and various non-methane
hydrocarbons and fluids to produce what is known as pipeline quality dry
natural gas.
Schematic flow diagram of a typical natural gas processing plant
Transport and Storage
Because of its low density, it is not easy to store natural gas or to transport it
by vehicle. Natural gas pipelines are impractical across oceans, since the gas
needs to be cooled down and compressed, as the friction in the pipeline
causes the gas to heat up. Whenever gas is bought or sold at custody transfer
points, rules and agreements are made regarding the gas quality. These may
include the maximum allowable concentration of CO2, H2S and H2O. Usually
sales quality gas that has been treated to remove contamination is traded on a
"dry gas" basis and is required to be commercially free from objectionable
odors, materials, and dust or other solid or liquid matter, waxes, gums and
gum forming constituents, which might damage or adversely affect operation
of equipment downstream of the custody transfer point.
Natural gas production and delivery
OIL REFINERY
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where
crude oil is transformed and refined into more useful products such as
petroleum naphtha, gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, kerosene, liquefied
petroleum gas, jet fuel and fuel oils. Petrochemicals feed stock like
ethylene and propylene can also be produced directly by cracking crude
oil without the need of using refined products of crude oil such as
naphtha. The crude oil feedstock has typically been processed by an oil
production plant. There is usually an oil depot at or near an oil refinery
for the storage of incoming crude oil feedstock as well as bulk liquid
products.
Oil refineries are typically large, sprawling industrial complexes with
extensive piping running throughout, carrying streams of fluids between
large chemical processing units, such as distillation columns. In many
ways, oil refineries use much of the technology, and can be thought of, as
types of chemical plants.

An oil refinery is considered an essential part of the downstream side of

the petroleum industry.
Oil Refinery
Major Products
Petroleum products are materials derived from crude oil (petroleum) as it
is processed in oil refineries. The majority of petroleum is converted to
petroleum products, which includes several classes of fuels.

Crude oil is separated into fractions by fractional distillation. The

fractions at the top of the fractionating column have lower boiling points
than the fractions at the bottom. The heavy bottom fractions are often
cracked into lighter, more useful products. All of the fractions are
processed further in other refining units.
Crude Oil Distillation
Libyan Oil Refineries
1) Ras Lanuf
2) Zueitina
3) Tobruk (Hariqa)
4) Brega
5) Sarir
6) Zawiyah
7) Mellitah
Libya`s oil refineries
 Thanks
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