Logistics

Transportation
Transportation of crude oil through the medium of pipeline is a conventional way being adopted by all major oil companies. This paper seeks to present a project related to such transportation of the crude oil and petroleum products in three phases; namely the planning phase involving selection of Right of The Way (ROW) in phase one; monitoring in phase two and risk management in phase three.
In planning phase, information regarding geographic features of the area are gathered from satellite imagery, ground survey, digital elevation model (DEM) to select the ROW for pipeline. Various parameters, such as terrain characteristics, rivers crossing, settlements, roads, railway lines, other existing communication networks etc. are given due consideration to plan the ROW. After selecting ROW, database is created, which would contain information for the construction, viz., maximum flow, location of sensors, risk prone areas, soil characteristics and so on.
Once the pipeline is constructed, the database created above is used for monitoring purposes. As safety of pipeline is of prime concern, sensors and slices are provided at particular locations with spatial information available in GIS. With the help of these, rapid action like stopping or diverting the flow can be taken in case of accidents.
The initial cost of implementation of the GIS project may appear to be on the higher side, but the benefits, such as fast response to the alarms of accident, maintenance of pipeline, monitoring the changes occurring inside the pipeline and availability of information of all locations at all times would far outweigh the initial costs.

Pipelines
Oil pipelines are made from steel or plastic tubes with inner diameter typically from 10 to 120 cm (about 4 to 48 inches). Most pipelines are buried at a typical depth of about 1 - 2 metres (about 3 to 6 feet). The oil is kept in motion by pump stations along the pipeline, and usually flows at speed of about 1 to 6 m/s. Multi-product pipelines are used to transport two or more different products in sequence in the same pipeline. Usually in multi-product pipelines there is no physical separation between the different products. Some mixing of adjacent products occurs, producing interface. This interface is removed from the pipeline at receiving facilities and segregated to prevent contamination.
Crude oil contains varying amounts of wax, or paraffin, and in colder climates wax buildup may occur within a pipeline. Often these pipelines are inspected and cleaned using pipeline inspection gauges pigs, also known as, scrapers or Go-devils. These devices are launched from pig-launcher stations and travel through the pipeline to be received at any other station down-stream, cleaning wax deposits and material that may have accumulated inside the line.
For natural gas, pipelines are constructed of carbon steel and varying in size from 2 inches (51 mm) to 56 inches (1,400 mm) in diameter, depending on the type of pipeline. The gas is pressurized by compressor stations and is odorless unless mixed with a mercaptan odorant where required by the proper regulating body.

Tankers
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker.[2] Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries.[2] Product tankers, generally much smaller, are designed to move petrochemicals from refineries to points near consuming markets.
Some specialized types of oil tankers have evolved. One of these is the naval replenishment oiler, a tanker which can fuel a moving vessel. Combination ore-bulk-oil carriers and permanently moored floating storage units are two other variations on the standard oil tanker design. Oil tankers have been involved in a number of damaging and high-profile oil spills. As a result, they are subject to stringent design and operational regulations.

Floating Production Storage and Offloading
A Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO; also called a "unit" and a "system") is a type of floating tank system used by the offshore oil and gas industry and designed to take all of the oil or gas produced from a nearby platform (s) or templates, process it, and store it until the oil or gas can be offloaded onto waiting tankers, or sent through a pipeline.

Cargo Operations
Operations aboard oil tankers are governed by an established body of best practices and a large body of international law. Cargo can be moved on or off of an oil tanker in several ways. One method is for the ship to moor alongside a pier, connect with cargo hoses or marine loading arms. Another method involves mooring to offshore buoys, such as a single point mooring, and making a cargo connection via underwater cargo hoses. A third method is by ship-to-ship transfer, also known as lightering. In this method, two ships come alongside in open sea and oil is transferred manifold to manifold via flexible hoses. Lightering is sometimes used where a loaded tanker is too large to enter a specific port