OVERVIEW

Pipelines constitute a major means of gathering and transporting a variety of commodities, ranging from oil, natural gas and chemicals to water, sewage, etc. Their use has expanded with time because they are more energy efficient than competing means of transportation. Although they require significant initial investment, they have a lifespan of up to 40 years and require relatively minor maintenance. Oil and natural gas pipelines are usually the longest, often crossing country and sometimes continental borders. Such major projects require investments of billions of dollars, and in addition can be contentious. Local resistance is often tied to environmental and safety issues. International and geopolitical complications arise from tensions either between countries along the route, or between them and the country of origin or destination. Furthermore, in today's climate of tight energy supply, pipelines are often entangled in geopolitical affairs. Consequently, such pipeline projects require long and careful planning and negotiations with many interest groups. One example is the Trans-Alaska pipeline, a 48-inch, 800-mile crude oil land pipeline that connects Prudhoe Bay on Alaska's North Slopes to the Valdez terminal in southern Alaska (see Table 1.1). The line crosses arctic regions that are environmentally sensitive as well as earthquake prone. As a result, the project took a decade of planning, engineering work and political negotiations. It was completed in 1977 at a cost of $10 BIL. A second example that has been discussed since the 1980s is the Medgaz pipeline, which will bring Algerian natural gas to...