A pipeline is a system of pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from gives a total of slightly less than 2,, miles 3,, km of pipeline in countries around the world.
Pipeline and Gas Journal ' s worldwide survey figures indicate that , miles , km of pipelines are planned and under construction. Of these, 88, miles , km represent projects in the planning and design phase; 29, miles 47, km reflect pipelines in various stages of construction. Liquids and gases are transported in pipelines, and any chemically stable substance can be sent through a pipeline. Pipelines exist for the transport of crude and refined petroleum, fuels — such as oil, natural gas and biofuels — and other fluids including sewage , slurry , water , beer , hot water or steam for shorter distances and even pneumatic systems which allow for the generation of suction pressure for useful work and in transporting solid objects.
Oil pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes which are usually buried. The oil is moved through the pipelines by pump stations along the pipeline. Natural gas and similar gaseous fuels are pressurized into liquids known as natural gas liquids NGLs.
Hydrogen pipeline transport is the transportation of hydrogen through a pipe. Pipelines are one of the safest ways of transporting materials as compared to road or rail, and hence in war, pipelines are often the target of military attacks.
It is well documented when the first crude oil pipeline was built. Credit for the development of pipeline transport belongs indisputably to the Oil Transport Association, which first constructed a 2-inch 51 mm wrought iron pipeline over a 6-mile 9. Some of the first major submarine pipelines were constructed across the English Channel in during Operation Pluto. These provided an estimated 8 per cent of all petroleum products used by the Allies on the Western Front between the Normandy landings and the end of Second World War.
