INTRODUCTION

This chapter on oil pipeline systems has been prepared as a basic guide to the design of cross-country pipelines for liquid petroleum and related products. It focuses on the fundamentals of pipeline design, emphasizing practical guidelines for real systems. It provides a general overview of the system approach to design, which integrates the hydraulic, mechanical, and operations and maintenance aspects in the design of a system, along with project economic analysis, in determining the preferred pipeline system.

This chapter also includes discussion of design topics for related pipeline-system components such as pump station and location and sizing, material selection for pipe, metering, leak detection, and system control. Aspects of petroleum-system design related to the special characteristics of some petroleum commodities are also addressed, in particular topics related to high-vapor pressure systems, multiproduct systems, and systems requiring consideration of variable thermal properties of the fluid, i.e., hot oil systems. Finally, design considerations for seismic and underwater design of pipeline systems are outlined.