Petroleum transport is the transportation of petroleum and derivatives such as gasoline (petrol).[1] Petroleum products are transported via rail cars, trucks, tanker vessels, and pipeline networks. The method used to move the petroleum products depends on the volume that is being moved and its destination. The biggest problems with moving petroleum products are pollution related and the chance of spillage. Petroleum oil is very hard to clean up and is very toxic to living animals and their surroundings.

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Marine Vessels

Marine Vessels and barges can transport this petroleum all around the world. Because these vessels can carry a lot of fuel, the amount it costs per barrel to move this oil is very cheap. These tankers are also the only practical way to move crude oil across the oceans. Usually the larger tankers are used to transport this fuel on a global scale, taking fuel from one continent to the other. Barges are more like tankers, but smaller and do not have any method of propulsion to move them. They are often pushed or towed by tugs. This makes barges very ineffective for transporting this oil for long distances. Barges are also not applicable for traveling across rough seas, so they are used in calmer waters. However, these barges are usually used for transporting the fuel shorter distances.

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Pipelines

Pipelines are used to transport oil from the wells to refineries and storage facilities are viewed as the most cost efficient way to move oil on land.[3] First the oil is collected at the wellhead, or some area where the oil is stored. From the wellhead it is pumped across the land through a pipe, and is discharged at its destination which typically is a refinery. However, pipelines can be used the same way to deliver already refined fuels such as gasoline, diesel and even jet fuel from the refinery to distribution facilities or a consumer. These pipelines are not just a solid line of straight pipe, but have various components on the pipeline. These pipelines will have booster pumps to keep the fuel moving along a long distance, inspection areas to make sure that the fuel is not getting any contaminants, and even other collection and delivery points along the way. Although it costs a lot of money and time to set up these pipelines, the operation cost is significantly less than using any other type of transportation.[4] Also the amount of manpower needed to move this oil is not that much. Pipelines offer the most efficient mode of transporting this oil across a land mass.[5] Even though these pipes are extremely cost effective there are some circumstances where this is not true and it is more logical to use another method. An example of this is how it is cheaper and more logical to use a ship to move the oil across the Atlantic Ocean than a pipeline.

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Rail cars

Tank cars are another way to move crude oil across a landmass. The oil is loaded into the tank cars, and are moved by a diesel train across the rails to the refinery or the train’s planned destination. Trains can carry a massive amount of this oil by using of multiple tank cars. Though each rail car holds a lot less oil than a large marine tanker vessel, when multiple are used a lot of oil can be transported. For example, the DOT-111 tank car is a very common tank car and can hold 131 cubic metres (820 bbl; 35,000 US gal).[6] If ten tank cars were pulled the train would be carrying 1,310 cubic metres (8,200 bbl; 350,000 US gal) of oil, so the amount of volume increases rapidly. The locomotive used to pull these rail cars have a massive amount of horsepower and can be hooked up with other locomotives to increase the power, making the rail car a fairly cost effective way to move this oil. These rail cars, just like the pipelines, can be used to carry a refined fuel instead of crude oil from a refinery to a distributing plant.[7] Rail cars are a common way to move this fuel a long distance to areas where they do not have pipelines set up.

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Trucks

Tank trucks are used more like rail cars are, but they will usually transport refined fuel to a fuel station, like a gas station. Trucks are usually used to carry smaller capacities of oil short distances. Like rail cars, these trucks can carry several different forms of this petroleum, including petroleum in its crude oil form from oilfields to refineries when no other means of transport such as pipeline or rail is available. However, these trucks often deliver this fuel to gas stations, or deliver the fuel straight to the consumer.[7] They also are used in situations where it would be illogical to use rail cars, pipelines and tanker ships. Because gas stations do not require large amounts of fuel, and generally could not practically be connected to railways, trucks allow a rational and cost effective way to deliver the fuel to the consumers. Common sizes of their tanks range from 1.5 to 28.4 cubic metres (400 to 7,500 US gal)