In Randers city in Denmark, the so-called Thor beer pipeline still exists.
Originally copper pipes ran directly from the brewery and when in the 90s the brewery moved out of the city, Thor beer replaced the centre of a star with a giant tank.
For other uses
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 was constructed from 13,000 hollowed-out tree trunks to transport salt water for 40 kilometers from Hallstatt to Ebensee.
Types by transport function
In general, pipelines can be classified in three categories depending on purpose.
Gathering pipelines
Group of smaller interconnected pipelines forming complex networks with the purpose of bringing crude oil or natural gas from several nearby wells to a treatment plant or processing facility.
In this group, pipelines are usually short -a couple of hundred meters- and with small diameters.
Also sub-sea pipelines for collecting product from deep water production platforms are considered gathering system.
Transportation pipelines
Mainly long pipes with large diameters, moving products (oil, gas, refined products) between cities, countries and even continents.
These transportation network include several compressor stations in gas lines or pump stations for crude and multiproducts pipelines.
Distribution pipelines
Composed of several interconnected pipelines with small diameters, used to take the products to the final consumer.
Feeder lines to distribute gas to homes and businesses downstream.
Pipelines at terminals for distributing products to tanks and storage facilities are included in this group.
Construction
When a pipelines is built, the construction project not only covers the civil work to lay the pipeline and build the pump/ compressor stations, it also has to cover all the work related to the installation of 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:
1. Open season to determine market interest :
Potential customers are giving the chance to sign up for part of the new pipeline’s capacity rights.
This stage lasts up to two months. If interest in the pipeline is limited, the project dose not move forward.