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 2014 gives a total of slightly less than 2,175,000 miles (3,500,000 km) of pipeline in 120 countries around the world. The United States had 65%, Russia had 8%, and Canada had 3%, thus 76% of all pipeline were in these three countries. The main attribute to pollution from pipelines is caused by corrosion and leakage.
75-535: Ervia , previously known as Bord Gáis or Bord Gáis Éireann ( Irish pronunciation: [ˈbˠoːɾˠd̪ˠ ˌɡaːʃ ˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ] ; meaning "Gas Board of Ireland"), is a multi-utility company distributing pipeline natural gas and dark fibre services in Ireland . The state-owned company has built an extensive network across Ireland. In 2014 the Bord Gáis Energy division was sold to a consortium led by Centrica , and
150-516: A semi-state company by the Irish government in 1975 to replace a series of private-sector small city-based gas companies, some of whom had got into financial trouble. The company was originally established as a private limited company by shares , Bord Gáis Éireann Teoranta, before being converted to a statutory corporation under the Gas Act 1976, the primary legislation under which BGE operates. The oldest of
225-425: A depth of about 3 to 6 feet (0.91 to 1.83 m). To protect pipes from impact , abrasion , and corrosion , a variety of methods are used. These can include wood lagging (wood slats), concrete coating, rockshield, high-density polyethylene , imported sand padding, sacrificial cathodes and padding machines. Crude oil contains varying amounts of paraffin wax and in colder climates wax buildup may occur within
300-589: A distinction is made between a "flowline" and a pipeline. The former is an intrafield pipeline, in the sense that it is used to connect subsea wellheads , manifolds and the platform within a particular development field. The latter, sometimes referred to as an "export pipeline", is used to bring the resource to shore. The construction and maintenance of marine pipelines imply logistical challenges that are different from those onland, mainly because of wave and current dynamics, along with other geohazards . In Nigeria oil pipelines get bored by thieves, in 2022, during
375-471: A fuel in oil fields to heat various facilities used by the oil drillers or equipment and trucks used in the oil patch. EG: Propane will convert from a gas to a liquid under light pressure, 100 psi, give or take depending on temperature, and is pumped into cars and trucks at less than 125 psi (860 kPa) at retail stations. Pipelines and rail cars use about double that pressure to pump at 250 psi (1,700 kPa). The distance to ship propane to markets
450-532: A pipeline is currently being constructed from North Dakota to Illinois, commonly known as the Dakota Access Pipeline . As more North American pipelines are built, even more exports of LNG, propane, butane, and other natural gas products occur on all three US coasts. To give insight, North Dakota Bakken region's oil production has grown by 600% from 2007 to 2015. North Dakota oil companies are shipping huge amounts of oil by tanker rail car as they can direct
525-452: A pipeline system are: Since oil and gas pipelines are an important asset of the economic development of almost any country, it has been required either by government regulations or internal policies to ensure the safety of the assets, and the population and environment where these pipelines run. Pipeline companies face government regulation, environmental constraints and social situations. Government regulations may define minimum staff to run
600-501: A pipeline. Often these pipelines are inspected and cleaned using pigging , the practice of using devices known as "pigs" to perform various maintenance operations on a pipeline. The devices are also known as "scrapers" or "Go-devils". "Smart pigs" (also known as "intelligent" or "intelligence" pigs) are used to detect anomalies in the pipe such as dents, metal loss caused by corrosion, cracking or other mechanical damage. These devices are launched from pig-launcher stations and travel through
675-835: A planned 200 turbines were actually built. The company changed its name to Airtricity in 2002. It rebranded as SSE Airtricity in February 2014. In 2007 Airtricity was named 'The No.1 Best Company to Work For in Ireland' by the Great Place To Work Institute. The company sold its North American assets in October 2007 to the German Group E.ON for approximately $ 1.4bn. The company was sold to SSE plc in January 2008 for approximately €1.1b. On 15 January 2009, Airtricity obtained consent from
750-495: A presently rated 250,000 barrels equivalent per day pipeline, it will be expanded to between 1.0 and 1.3 million barrels per day. It will bring western oil to refineries in Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quebec and New York by early 2014. New Brunswick will also refine some of this western Canadian crude and export some crude and refined oil to Europe from its deep water oil ULCC loading port. Although pipelines can be built under
825-449: A problem for pipeline companies. In this case, the detection levels should be under two percent of maximum flow, with a high expectation for location accuracy. Various technologies and strategies have been implemented for monitoring pipelines, from physically walking the lines to satellite surveillance. The most common technology to protect pipelines from occasional leaks is Computational Pipeline Monitoring or CPM. CPM takes information from
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#1732876249634900-458: A set of screens or Human Machine Interface , showing the operational conditions of the pipeline. The operator can monitor the hydraulic conditions of the line, as well as send operational commands (open/close valves, turn on/off compressors or pumps, change setpoints, etc.) through the SCADA system to the field. To optimize and secure the operation of these assets, some pipeline companies are using what
975-539: A small amount of the offtake; the majority is traded on the Intercontinental Exchange. Aurora Telecom specialises in providing dark fibre services to the private sector. Due to being a subsidiary company of Gas Networks Ireland, Aurora Telecom is able to utilise the former's extensive gas pipeline network to lay fibre optic lines, principally in Dublin, though with an owned and operated network now stretching from
1050-467: A subsidiary of Bord Gáis Éireann, to provide " safe, clean and affordable water and waste water services " to water users in Ireland. Public concerns on operational, documentation, and financial issues were highlighted throughout the initial months of the subsidiary's operations. Irish Water is accountable to two regulatory bodies: the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), the economic regulator for
1125-631: Is a 525-kilometre (326 mi) slurry pipeline which is planned to transport iron ore from the Minas-Rio mine (producing 26.5 million tonnes per year) to the Port of Açu in Brazil. An existing example is the 85-kilometre (53 mi) Savage River Slurry pipeline in Tasmania , Australia, possibly the world's first when it was built in 1967. It includes a 366-metre (1,201 ft) bridge span at 167 metres (548 ft) above
1200-629: Is a TransCanada natural gas line going north across the Niagara region bridges. This gas line carries Marcellus shale gas from Pennsylvania and other tied in methane or natural gas sources into the Canadian province of Ontario. It began operations in the fall of 2012, supplying 16 percent of all the natural gas used in Ontario. This new US-supplied natural gas displaces the natural gas formerly shipped to Ontario from western Canada in Alberta and Manitoba, thus dropping
1275-427: Is a completely independent entity from Ervia. Bord Gáis Éireann maintained twelve stores (branded Energy Supply Stores ) around the country, however they are run on a franchise basis and not by Bord Gáis itself. In 2002 Bord Gáis Natural Gas Showroom in D'Olier Street, operated by the company itself, was closed, in 2006 its Cork company-owned showroom was also closed. The Water Services Act 2013 created Irish Water as
1350-502: Is an energy company founded in Ireland in 1997, and now a subsidiary SSE plc . SSE Airtricity supplies and distributes electricity and gas to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . The company was founded as Eirtricity (derived from the word Éire , Irish for "Ireland") in 1997 by Eddie O'Connor , developed generation capacity in Ireland based in counties Cavan , Donegal , Sligo and Wexford construction, though only 7 of
1425-467: Is called "Advanced Pipeline Applications", which are software tools installed on top of the SCADA system, that provide extended functionality to perform leak detection, leak location, batch tracking (liquid lines), pig tracking, composition tracking, predictive modeling, look ahead modeling, and operator training. Pipeline networks are composed of several pieces of equipment that operate together to move products from location to location. The main elements of
1500-499: Is less efficient to produce and transport due to greater heat losses. Heat transfer oils are generally not used for economic and ecological reasons. The typical annual loss of thermal energy through distribution is around 10%, as seen in Norway's district heating network. District heating pipelines are normally installed underground, with some exceptions. Within the system, heat storage may be installed to even out peak load demands. Heat
1575-445: 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). Natural gas pipelines are constructed of carbon steel . 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
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#17328762496341650-608: Is much shorter, as thousands of natural-gas processing plants are located in or near oil fields. Many Bakken Basin oil companies in North Dakota, Montana, Manitoba and Saskatchewan gas fields separate the NGLs in the field, allowing the drillers to sell propane directly to small wholesalers, eliminating the large refinery control of product and prices for propane or butane. The most recent major pipeline to start operating in North America
1725-659: Is odorless unless mixed with a mercaptan odorant where required by a regulating authority. A major ammonia pipeline is the Ukrainian Transammiak line connecting the TogliattiAzot facility in Russia to the exporting Black Sea -port of Odesa . Pipelines have been used for transportation of ethanol in Brazil, and there are several ethanol pipeline projects in Brazil and the United States. The main problems related to
1800-431: Is over 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) long, and is connected to wells tapping an aquifer over 500 metres (1,600 ft) underground. District heating or teleheating systems consist of a network of insulated feed and return pipes which transport heated water, pressurized hot water , or sometimes steam to the customer. While steam is hottest and may be used in industrial processes due to its higher temperature, it
1875-602: Is still in operation. As of 2004 , there are 900 miles (1,400 km) of low pressure hydrogen pipelines in the US and 930 miles (1,500 km) in Europe. Two millennia ago, the ancient Romans made use of large aqueducts to transport water from higher elevations by building the aqueducts in graduated segments that allowed gravity to push the water along until it reached its destination. Hundreds of these were built throughout Europe and elsewhere, and along with flour mills were considered
1950-405: Is the most desirable option, but ethanol's affinity for water and solvent properties require the use of a dedicated pipeline, or significant cleanup of existing pipelines. Slurry pipelines are sometimes used to transport coal or ore from mines. The material to be transported is closely mixed with water before being introduced to the pipeline; at the far end, the material must be dried. One example
2025-590: Is transferred into the central heating of the dwellings through heat exchangers at heat substations , without mixing of the fluids in either system. Bars in the Veltins-Arena , a major football ground in Gelsenkirchen , Germany, are interconnected by a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) long beer pipeline. In Randers city in Denmark, the so-called Thor Beer pipeline was operated. Originally, copper pipes ran directly from
2100-514: Is usually known as the "Main Control Room". In this center, all the data related to field measurement is consolidated in one central database. The data is received from multiple RTUs along the pipeline. It is common to find RTUs installed at every station along the pipeline. The SCADA system at the Main Control Room receives all the field data and presents it to the pipeline operator through
2175-720: The FERC and others, reviews proposed pipeline projects in order to comply with the Clean Water Act , the National Environmental Policy Act , other laws and, in some cases, municipal laws. The Biden administration has sought to permit the respective states and tribal groups to appraise and potentially block the proposed projects. Field devices are instrumentation, data gathering units and communication systems. The field instrumentation includes flow, pressure, and temperature gauges/transmitters, and other devices to measure
2250-589: The renewable energy division of Airtricity would be rebranded as SSE Renewables from 1 January 2010. In May 2010 Airtricity announced that it would be entering the domestic gas market in the Republic of Ireland. Airtricity came under fire in 2010 for an alleged lack of compassion in disconnecting customers with a good bill-paying record. SSE Airtricity is owned by Scottish and Southern Energy as of 15 February 2008 and now describes itself as "the renewable arm of Scottish and Southern Energy Group". As of May 2008,
2325-516: The Bord Gáis name was transferred as part of the sale. Bord Gáis Éireann was therefore renamed Ervia in June 2014 and as a result no longer sold gas directly to customers. Ervia was the ultimate parent company of dark fibre operator Aurora Telecom . In June 2024, all functions, assets and liabilities of Ervia were transferred to Gas Networks Ireland and Ervia was dissolved. Bord Gáis Éireann was established as
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2400-575: The Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works, and Water Management for construction of the West Rhine (Dutch: West-Rijn) wind farm 40 kilometres off the Dutch North Sea coast. The wind farm will consist of up to 72 wind turbines with a total potential power capacity of around 260 MW. Eddie O'Connor left Airtricity in 2008 and founded Mainstream Renewable Power . In October 2009 SSE announced that
2475-551: The ESB Group. On 18 February 2009 Bord Gáis Energy Supply rebranded as Bord Gáis Energy and competed in a new, fully deregulated gas market, legally separate and distinct from the rest of Bord Gáis Éireann. As part of the overall opening up of the energy market in Ireland as a whole Bord Gáis Energy entered the deregulated electricity market offering dual fuel bundles to consumers. Other companies including Airtricity and Electric Ireland also began competing with Bord Gáis Energy in
2550-704: The Irish government's disposal of state owned assets Firmus Energy was sold in March 2014 to iCON Infrastructure. On 4 July 2008, an "arms-length" subsidiary of Bord Gáis, Gaslink was established to perform the role of transmission and distribution system operator. However, as part of cost-cutting measures on 1 August 2015 Gaslink was abolished and its responsibilities rolled back into Gas Networks Ireland. Pipeline transport Pipeline and Gas Journal' s worldwide survey figures indicate that 118,623 miles (190,905 km) of pipelines are planned and under construction. Of these, 88,976 miles (143,193 km) represent projects in
2625-597: The Oireachtas , provided for the dissolution of Ervia. This took effect on 1 June 2024. This left Gas Networks Ireland as a standalone entity owned by the State. Gas Networks Ireland ( Irish : Líonraí Gáis Éireann ) owns, and is responsible for the operation, maintenance and development of Ireland's natural gas transmission and distribution networks, consisting of over 14,600km of pipeline. The network provides gas to customers in all major Irish cities, along with several towns across
2700-510: The Republic of Ireland it competes with ESB Electric Ireland and Bord Gáis Energy , while in Northern Ireland it competes with Viridian , Phoenix Natural Gas , Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) and ESB Electric Ireland. In 2010, SSE Airtricity signed a three-year deal to become the primary sponsor of the League of Ireland . In January 2021 a two-year renewal of the existing deal with
2775-463: The Russian-Ukrainian war, the submarine natural gas pipelines Nord Stream I and II got blasted. In general, pipelines can be classified in three categories depending on purpose: When a pipeline is built, the construction project not only covers the civil engineering work to lay the pipeline and build the pump/compressor stations, it also has to cover all the work related to the installation of
2850-592: The Savage River. Hydrogen pipeline transport is a transportation of hydrogen through a pipe as part of the hydrogen infrastructure . Hydrogen pipeline transport is used to connect the point of hydrogen production or delivery of hydrogen with the point of demand, with transport costs similar to CNG , the technology is proven. Most hydrogen is produced at the place of demand with every 50 to 100 miles (160 km) an industrial production facility. The 1938 Rhine-Ruhr 240-kilometre (150 mi) hydrogen pipeline
2925-528: The US. The distance from the biggest oil patch in North Dakota, in Williston, North Dakota , is only about 85 miles or 137 kilometers to the Canada–US border and Manitoba . Mutual funds and joint ventures are the largest investors in new oil and gas pipelines. In the fall of 2012, the US began exporting propane to Europe, known as LPG, as wholesale prices there are much higher than in North America. Additionally,
3000-554: The United States, 70% of crude oil and petroleum products are shipped by pipeline. (23% are by ship, 4% by truck, and 3% by rail) In Canada for natural gas and petroleum products, 97% are shipped by pipeline. Natural gas (and similar gaseous fuels) are lightly pressurized into liquids known as Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). Small NGL processing facilities can be located in oil fields so the butane and propane liquid under light pressure of 125 pounds per square inch (860 kPa), can be shipped by rail, truck or pipeline. Propane can be used as
3075-554: The bailout terms. In March 2014 Bord Gáis Éireann confirmed it would sell its customer supply arm Bord Gáis Energy to a consortium made up of Centrica , Brookfield Renewable Energy and iCON Infrastructure to the value of €1.1 billion. The sale involved the splitting of the group's retail unit among the three buyers. The main retail division would be bought by Centrica, while its wind assets under SWS would be acquired by Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners and iCON infrastructure acquiring Northern Ireland based Firmus Energy . As part of
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3150-578: The brewery, but when the brewery moved out of the city in the 1990s, Thor Beer replaced it with a giant tank. A three-kilometer beer pipeline was completed in Bruges , Belgium in September 2016 to reduce truck traffic on the city streets. The village of Hallstatt in Austria, which is known for its long history of salt mining , claims to contain "the oldest industrial pipeline in the world", dating back to 1595. It
3225-433: The capital to Cork, Limerick and Galway via several towns including Athlone, Mullingar and Ennis. Bord Gáis Energy was previously the retail (industrial, commercial and residential) division of Bord Gáis Éireann. In February 2012 the Irish government announced its intention to sell Bord Gáis Energy as part of the reforms required following the banking crisis bailout and finalised the deal in June 2014. Today Bord Gáis Energy
3300-572: The company had 24 wind farms in operation throughout Ireland and the UK, with a total nameplate capacity of over 600 MW. A further 7 wind farms totalling over 100 MW are under construction. Construction of the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm with a peak capacity of 500 MW using 140 x 3.6 MW Siemens turbines. These included: SSE Airtricity supplies electricity in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to industrial and residential customers. In
3375-475: The company was sold to Canadian energy firm Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners for US$ 680 million as part of the sale of Bord Gáis Energy to British energy giant Centrica. Bord Gáis had a plan to develop the gas market in Northern Ireland . A pipeline from Carrickfergus to Derry was completed in October 2004 and now serves Coolkeeragh Power Station . A second pipeline, known as the south–north pipeline,
3450-681: The country. Numerous suppliers provide gas services to customers and businesses via this network of pipelines. Two interconnectors link the pipeline network to Scotland (with a spur from one of the interconnectors linking to the Isle of Man supplying the Manx Utilities Authority ). Most of its modern gas supply is imported, though a new gas field known as the Corrib field off the County Mayo coast came on stream in 2015. However, Ervia only purchases
3525-524: The deal the Bord Gáis name would go to Centrica requiring the rump entity to be renamed. In June 2014 Bord Gáis Éireann was renamed Ervia becoming a holding company of three distinct but complementary utility firms: Gas Networks Ireland (formerly Bord Gáis Networks), Irish Water and Aurora Telecom . In October 2020, the government of Ireland decided that Ervia would be dissolved and its functions integrated into Gas Networks Ireland. The Gas (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2024, an act of
3600-618: The early 2000s Ireland's state owned public utilities underwent major reform thanks to the adoption by EU members of the European Union's Third Energy Package . This required vertically integrated utilities such as Bord Gáis Éireann to legally demarcate and split into two roles: the Transmission System Operator (TSO) and the Distribution System Operator (DSO) although a combined DSO/TSO was permissible as long as
3675-609: The economic downturn in 2008. After faltering in 2009, demand for pipeline expansion and updating increased the following year as energy production grew. By 2012, almost 32,000 miles (51500 km) of North American pipeline were being planned or under construction. When pipelines are constrained, additional pipeline product transportation options may include the use of drag reducing agents, or by transporting product via truck or rail. Oil pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes with inner diameter typically from 4 to 48 inches (100 to 1,220 mm). Most pipelines are typically buried at
3750-503: The field devices that will support remote operation. The pipeline is routed along what is known as a "right of way". Pipelines are generally developed and built using the following stages: Russia has "Pipeline Troops" as part of the Rear Services , who are trained to build and repair pipelines. Russia is the only country to have Pipeline Troops. The U.S. government, mainly through the EPA ,
3825-518: The field related to pressures, flows, and temperatures to estimate the hydraulic behavior of the product being transported. Once the estimation is completed, the results are compared to other field references to detect the presence of an anomaly or unexpected situation, which may be related to a leak. The American Petroleum Institute has published several articles related to the performance of CPM in liquids pipelines. The API Publications are: Airtricity SSE Airtricity (previously Eirtricity )
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#17328762496343900-516: The gas sector, with Bord Gáis Networks being impartial towards all companies who wished to utilise the gas network. It was expected BGE would be no different than any other gas provider. A condition of the EU/IMF bailout programme for Ireland required the Irish government to sell off some state owned assets to help pay down loans and reduce Ireland's debt burden. In February 2012 the Irish government announced it would sell Bord Gáis Energy as required under
3975-437: The generation of suction pressure for useful work and in transporting solid objects. Pipelines are useful for transporting water for drinking or irrigation over long distances when it needs to move over hills , or where canals or channels are poor choices due to considerations of evaporation , pollution , or environmental impact. Oil pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes which are usually buried. The oil
4050-582: The government regulated pipeline shipping charges because of the significantly shorter distance from gas source to consumer. To avoid delays and US government regulation, many small, medium and large oil producers in North Dakota have decided to run an oil pipeline north to Canada to meet up with a Canadian oil pipeline shipping oil from west to east. This allows the Bakken Basin and Three Forks oil producers to get higher negotiated prices for their oil because they will not be restricted to just one wholesale market in
4125-506: The landmark art deco Dublin Gas head office building in D'Olier Street , Dublin to Trinity College Dublin . This building was designed by Robinson and Keefe Architects in about 1928. The exterior is clad in grey and black stone. The interior which was originally lit by Gasoliers still remains as a protected structure. Bord Gáis moved to purpose built premises in Foley Street, Dublin, which is now
4200-460: The lifeline of the Roman Empire. The ancient Chinese also made use of channels and pipe systems for public works. The famous Han dynasty court eunuch Zhang Rang (d. 189 AD) once ordered the engineer Bi Lan to construct a series of square-pallet chain pumps outside the capital city of Luoyang . These chain pumps serviced the imperial palaces and living quarters of the capital city as
4275-529: The main offices of Bord Gáis Energy. Bord Gáis now have offices at Lower Mount Street, Dublin. For nearly two decades the main supply of gas available for Bord Gáis came from a Marathon Petroleum owned gasfield near Kinsale , off the Cork coast. This gas field had been found in 1971, the same year as the foundation of the Nuclear Energy Board . This gas field comes ashore at Inch, County Cork. Beginning in
4350-416: The mainland. In 1994, the pipeline was abandoned. In places, a pipeline may have to cross water expanses, such as small seas, straits and rivers. In many instances, they lie entirely on the seabed. These pipelines are referred to as "marine" pipelines (also, "submarine" or "offshore" pipelines). They are used primarily to carry oil or gas, but transportation of water is also important. In offshore projects,
4425-413: The most economical way to transport large quantities of oil, refined oil products or natural gas over land. For example, in 2014, pipeline transport of crude oil cost about $ 5 per barrel, while rail transport cost about $ 10 to $ 15 per barrel. Trucking has even higher costs due to the additional labor required; employment on completed pipelines represents only "1% of that of the trucking industry.". In
4500-522: The oil to the market that gives the best price, and rail cars can be used to avoid a congested oil pipeline to get the oil to a different pipeline in order to get the oil to market faster or to a different less busy oil refinery. However, pipelines provide a cheaper means to transport by volume. Enbridge in Canada is applying to reverse an oil pipeline going from east-to-west (Line 9) and expanding it and using it to ship western Canadian bitumen oil eastward. From
4575-399: The operation, operator training requirements, pipeline facilities, technology and applications required to ensure operational safety. For example, in the State of Washington it is mandatory for pipeline operators to be able to detect and locate leaks of 8 percent of maximum flow within fifteen minutes or less. Social factors also affect the operation of pipelines. Product theft is sometimes also
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#17328762496344650-422: The pipeline to be received at any other station down-stream, either cleaning wax deposits and material that may have accumulated inside the line or inspecting and recording the condition of the line. For natural gas, pipelines are constructed of carbon steel and vary in size from 2 to 60 inches (51 to 1,524 mm) in diameter, depending on the type of pipeline. The gas is pressurized by compressor stations and
4725-503: The planning and design phase; 29,647 miles (47,712 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
4800-584: The relevant data required. These instruments are installed along the pipeline on some specific locations, such as injection or delivery stations, pump stations (liquid pipelines) or compressor stations (gas pipelines), and block valve stations. The information measured by these field instruments is then gathered in local remote terminal units (RTU) that transfer the field data to a central location in real time using communication systems, such as satellite channels, microwave links, or cellular phone connections. Pipelines are controlled and operated remotely, from what
4875-445: The sea, that process is economically and technically demanding, so the majority of oil at sea is transported by tanker ships . Similarly, it is often more economically feasible to transport natural gas in the form of LNG, however the break-even point between LNG and pipelines would depend on the volume of natural gas and the distance it travels. The market size for oil and gas pipeline construction experienced tremendous growth prior to
4950-739: The small private companies was the Alliance and Dublin Consumers' Gas Company , which had been founded in the early nineteenth century by Daniel O'Connell , a prominent Irish politician and Lord Mayor of Dublin . After initially supplying the company (known simply as Dublin Gas by the 1980s) with wholesale natural gas, Bord Gáis acquired the assets of the company when it went into receivership in 1987, including its head office in D'Olier Street, Dublin. Other town gas companies were acquired by Bord Gáis in Cork, Limerick, Clonmel, and Kilkenny. In 2002, Bord Gáis Éireann sold
5025-593: 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 (9.7 km) track from an oil field in Pennsylvania to a railroad station in Oil Creek , in the 1860s. Pipelines are generally
5100-549: The towns and cities near the two pipelines - Antrim , Armagh , Ballymena , Ballymoney , Banbridge , Craigavon , Derry , Limavady and Newry - where the local subsidiaries of BG used the trading name of Firmus Energy . On 1 December 2005, Firmus launched their first supply in Northern Ireland, to the large Michelin tyre factory in Ballymena. On 25 April 2006 Firmus connected its first residential customers in Derry. As part of
5175-462: The transport of ethanol by pipeline are its corrosive nature and tendency to absorb water and impurities in pipelines, which are not problems with oil and natural gas. Insufficient volumes and cost-effectiveness are other considerations limiting construction of ethanol pipelines. In the US minimal amounts of ethanol are transported by pipeline. Most ethanol is shipped by rail, the main alternatives being truck and barge. Delivering ethanol by pipeline
5250-486: The two were ring-fenced from one another This resulted in two new "arms length" entities being created inside the Bord Gáis group; Bord Gáis Networks and Bord Gáis Energy Supply. A similar situation took place with the Electricity Supply Board with it being split into two main units, legally distinct and separate; ESB Networks and ESB Customer Supply, now called Electric Ireland , although both being owned by
5325-513: The water industry; and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the environmental regulator. On 31 December 2022, Irish Water was renamed Uisce Éireann. On 1 January 2023, Uisce Éireann was separated from Ervia and established as a standalone national water authority. In late 2009 Bord Gáis Éireann bought the wind energy company SWS. However, as part of the large scale EU/IMF mandated divestiture of many state assets mid 2014
5400-549: The water lifted by the chain pumps was brought in by a stoneware pipe system. Pipelines are useful for transporting water for drinking or irrigation over long distances when it needs to move over hills , or where canals or channels are poor choices due to considerations of evaporation , pollution , or environmental impact. The 530 km (330 miles) Goldfields Water Supply Scheme in Western Australia using 750 mm (30 inch) pipe and completed in 1903
5475-522: Was commissioned in October 2006. It runs from Gormanston in the Republic of Ireland to join the Carrick/Derry pipeline near Antrim creating an all-Ireland network and providing redundancy in case of problems with either Scotland - Northern Ireland pipeline or the Scotland - Ireland interconnectors. The Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland awarded Bord Gáis a licence to supply homes and businesses in
5550-499: Was constructed from 13,000 hollowed-out tree trunks to transport brine 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Hallstatt to Ebensee . Between 1978 and 1994, a 15 km milk pipeline ran between the Dutch island of Ameland and Holwerd on the mainland, of which 8 km was beneath the Wadden Sea . Every day, 30,000 litres of milk produced on the island were transported to be processed on
5625-952: Was the largest water supply scheme of its time. Examples of significant water pipelines in South Australia are the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline (completed 1944) and Mannum-Adelaide pipeline (completed 1955) pipelines, both part of the larger Snowy Mountains scheme . There are two Los Angeles, California aqueducts, the Owens Valley aqueduct (completed 1913) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct (completed 1970) which also include extensive use of pipelines. The Great Manmade River of Libya supplies 3,680,000 cubic metres (4,810,000 cu yd) of water each day to Tripoli, Benghazi, Sirte, and several other cities in Libya. The pipeline
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