Crude Oil Transportation Is Facing New Challenges
For years the media has run stories on the dangers of fossil fuel reliance. Air pollution and climate change top the list, and the continuou...
http://live4earn.blogspot.com/2014/07/crude-oil-transportation-is-facing-new.html
For years the media has run stories on the dangers of fossil fuel reliance. Air pollution and climate change top the list, and the continuous climb of gasoline prices constantly makes headlines. While alternatives are making steady progress, there is no escaping petroleum, the indisputable foundation of 21st century world economics. Crude oil transportation today is faced with new hurdles created by the expansion of this industry.
Much of the toxic liquid is moved through pipelines. Even when fresh from the ground, this is not a harmless product. Depending on geographical location, oil is a chemical soup that can vary in composition. Historically recent accidents in the waters of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico are good illustrations of the damage and environmental degradation that large spills can produce locally.
Railing against big oil is easy, but in reality most consumers are generally loathe to eliminate petroleum products from daily life. It fuels cars, and is a major ingredient in the plastics contained in products from cell phones to storage bags. Oil keeps people warm in winter, generates electrical power, drives local commerce, and is a key component in agriculture and medicine.
There are few easily accessible oil fields remaining. Countries like Canada are currently processing huge amounts from shale in some remote northern regions, while production in the United States has soared with the introduction of hydraulic fracking, an extraction method that captures the remaining deposits from previously tapped fields. Getting the crude from well to refinery over land has become a major political issue.
Pipelines are still the least destructive method in use. The mind-boggling amount of this product produced each day in northern Canada would fill over 15,000 tanker trucks and nearly 5000 rail cars. The most practical means of moving it is through pressurized tubes, but no method is totally safe. A recent American pipeline break created an ecological mess, as well as a public relations debacle.
Ocean-going oil tankers are a familiar site at some ports, and millions of barrels each day pass through global political hot-spots such as the Straits of Hormuz. Industry figures illustrate that of all the oil floating at sea, less than 8% has been caused by tanker mishaps. That is still a huge and damaging figure, but helps see the problem from a different perspective.
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.
The only way to eliminate these issues entirely is to cease production, an unrealistic idea. While understanding the economic need to move crude oil, many consumers have taken a not-in-my-backyard stance, while regulators are enmeshed in inevitable political controversies. Producing oil is vital and profitable to the corporations that own these fields, and for now they are responsible for improving transport safety.
Read more about Why Crude Oil Transportation Is Both Dangerous And Necessary.
Much of the toxic liquid is moved through pipelines. Even when fresh from the ground, this is not a harmless product. Depending on geographical location, oil is a chemical soup that can vary in composition. Historically recent accidents in the waters of Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico are good illustrations of the damage and environmental degradation that large spills can produce locally.
Railing against big oil is easy, but in reality most consumers are generally loathe to eliminate petroleum products from daily life. It fuels cars, and is a major ingredient in the plastics contained in products from cell phones to storage bags. Oil keeps people warm in winter, generates electrical power, drives local commerce, and is a key component in agriculture and medicine.
There are few easily accessible oil fields remaining. Countries like Canada are currently processing huge amounts from shale in some remote northern regions, while production in the United States has soared with the introduction of hydraulic fracking, an extraction method that captures the remaining deposits from previously tapped fields. Getting the crude from well to refinery over land has become a major political issue.
Pipelines are still the least destructive method in use. The mind-boggling amount of this product produced each day in northern Canada would fill over 15,000 tanker trucks and nearly 5000 rail cars. The most practical means of moving it is through pressurized tubes, but no method is totally safe. A recent American pipeline break created an ecological mess, as well as a public relations debacle.
Ocean-going oil tankers are a familiar site at some ports, and millions of barrels each day pass through global political hot-spots such as the Straits of Hormuz. Industry figures illustrate that of all the oil floating at sea, less than 8% has been caused by tanker mishaps. That is still a huge and damaging figure, but helps see the problem from a different perspective.
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.
The only way to eliminate these issues entirely is to cease production, an unrealistic idea. While understanding the economic need to move crude oil, many consumers have taken a not-in-my-backyard stance, while regulators are enmeshed in inevitable political controversies. Producing oil is vital and profitable to the corporations that own these fields, and for now they are responsible for improving transport safety.
Read more about Why Crude Oil Transportation Is Both Dangerous And Necessary.
