Fuel to the Future – ABC’s of Pipeline Vocabulary

Laurie MunozMilwee Middle School

A

ALASKAN PIPELINE

TAPS (Trans-Alaska Pipeline System)

800 miles of pipeline

Prudhoe Bay to Valdez

Conveys oil

B

BARRELS

Transports petroleum products

1977 – the year the first barrel of oil traveled through TAPS

Leaks – sabotage, maintenance failures and gunshot holes

15 million barrels transported in 2013

C

CANADA

Hardisty, Alberta – main terminal for Canada

TransCanada – owns the Keystone Pipeline

Phase 1 – 4 – based out of Canada

Crude Oil

D

DESIGN

Pipelines are designed to be environmentally friendly

Begins with drafting (a method of diagramming)

Contracted to engineering firms Submitted for approval

E

ELEVATED

Raised above ground

Environmental protection

TAPS Keystone Steel beam

supports

F

FRACKING

Method to obtain petroleum, natural gas, or brine

Fractures (breaks) deep rock formations

Uses water – hydrofracking

G

GATHERING LINES

Moves natural gas

Small diameter pipelines

Begin at the wellhead

Join other gathering lines to become bigger pipelines

H

HARDISTY TERMINAL

Alberta, Canada Beginning of the

Keystone Pipelines

Phases 1-4 Crude oil

I

INTERNATIONAL

Pipelines exist throughout the world

Africa Asia Australia Middle East Russia Europe North America Central America

J

JOBS

Alaskan Pipeline – 6000 jobs in Alaska alone

Keystone – 9000 jobs Engineers - design Delivery Driver - Welders – Capacity Analysis – how much can be

transported

K

KEYSTONE

Four phases of construction

Transports crude oil from Canada

Connects to – Nebraska, Montana, and Texas

Phases 1 – 2 – deliver 590,000 barrels of oil daily

Phase 3 – delivers 700,000 barrels of oil daily

L

LEGISLATION

Lawmaking Oil Spill and Pipeline Safety PHMSA – Pipeline and Hazardous

Materials Safety Administration Enacted to protect the environment

and people

M

MANUFACTURER

Production of materials 75% of the Keystone XL –

manufactured in North America Welded pipe Steel

N

NATURAL GAS

Fuel Transported by

pipelines Pressurized into

liquids – NGL (Natural Gas Liquids)

O

OIL

Collected by gathering systems

Collected in onshore and offshore areas

Processed into gas and other energy products

P

PETROLEUM

Naturally occurring crude oil

Fossil fuel – usually zooplankton and algae

Found in sedimentary rock

Recovered through oil drilling

Q

QUALITY

Quality Management Systems System of checks and balances Ensures Safety Multi Step Process

R

REFINERY

Crude oil is processed into useful products

Crayons Plastics Heating Oil Jet Fuel

S

SHEARING

A variation in wind speed or velocity

Occurs over a short distance

Elevated pipelines are subjected to wind shearing

Damages the pipeline

T

TARSANDS

Also known as oil sands

Unconventional petroleum deposit

Mixture of sand, clay, water and bitumen

Bitumen – dense and viscous petroleum

U

ULTRAMAR

Canadian gas and fuel retailer

Operates in Canada Founded in 1961 Produces 265,000

barrels of oil daily Employed 3,600

people directly with the company, and 10,000 people indirectly

V

VELOCIY

Vector measurement of speed

Includes both speed and direction

Wind velocity is considered in elevated pipelines

Velocity of transport is critical for production

W

WELDERS

Joins pieces of metal together Structural welders work on pipelines Sporadic job – times of great demand

and other times with little or no work Work conditions can be difficult with

both weather and location

X

XL

Remaining portion of the Keystone Pipeline

1,200 miles long Alberta, Canada to

the Gulf of Mexico 40% already built Transport crude oil

Y

YIELD

Refers to the amount of production Oil Yield – amount of oil that can be

derived from a oil well or other source

Also refers to net energy from oil production

Z

ZIMBABWE

Mega fuel pipeline

Expected to transport 500 million liters of fuel per month

Connects Beira to Harare

Still under consideration