11 Sep Famous Pipelines: From Crude Oil to Beer
Often we don’t think about the infrastructure that enables our current lifestyles. Thinking about how land is connected to other land by pipelines isn’t exactly the forerunner of our thoughts. The only time we ever really hear about pipelines is when something tragic has happened to one and is causing ecological harm, but have you taken the time to think about the pipelines that support us? These structural feats of engineering connect landscapes together through their burrowed systems, transporting valuable liquids from one side of the globe to the other. Here are some of the most famous pipelines the world has to offer.
Druzhba Pipeline
The Druzhba pipeline isn’t commonly known by name, however it’s the world’s longest oil pipeline and part of the biggest pipeline networks in the world. This pipeline carries oil across 4,000 kilometres, starting in the eastern corner of Russia and stretching as far as Germany and Turkey. The network’s namesake means “Friendship” which alludes to the fact that the famous pipeline was supplying oil to the allies of the Soviet Union. The pipelines stretch all over Eastern Europe and continue to serve as the largest oil artery for Europe.
Interprovincial Pipe Line
This pipeline makes others shrink in comparison, as it’s the record holder for the world’s longest crude oil pipeline. This pipeline carries crude oil across nearly 2,353 miles. The pressure of the pipeline is maintained by 82 different pumping stations. This famous pipeline starts in Edmonton, Canada, down to Chicago, and then back to Montreal.
Interprovincial Pipe Line carries more than 1.6 million barrels a day.
ESPO Pipeline
The Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline transports Russian harvest crude oil to Korea, China and Japan. The length of the pipeline stretches over 3,018 miles and transports 600,000 barrels of oil a day. By the year 2025, it’s expected to pump as many barrels as the Interprovincial Pipe Line, 1.6million a day. All the more impressive when you consider that the Interprovincial pipeline is a purely land-based pipeline, while the ESPO pipeline has to take the ocean into consideration.
The Beer Pipeline
The first beer pipeline ever constructed was into Bruges, Belgium. The famous Halve Maan Brewery located in the historic district constructed a two-mile beer pipeline to a bottling plant in the suburbs from their brewery.
Ever more recent, Germany one of Belgium’s arch rivals in beer are also busy with their own beer pipeline. While it doesn’t have a name yet, it’s surely going to be the unnamed hero of the many upcoming festivals and concerts at Wacken Open Air. This pipeline was born out of the need for more beer in Wacken, Germany.
The attendees of the events held at Wacken Open Air were drinking more than a gallon of beer each. The proprietors realized that kegs just wouldn’t cut it anymore and thus took on the engineering task of creating an entire pipeline specifically for the transport of beer.
The pipeline was installed with fiber optic cables and power supply lines for the concert stages themselves, and the four-mile beer pipeline was outfitted to compliment the stage’s needs. Of course, they also installed a water pipeline to help stave off the after-festival hangover.
The Trans Alaskan Pipeline
While it’s not breaking records, it’s serving an important purpose to the folks of Alaska. The pipeline system totals to 800 miles long, with only 380 miles buried underground. The other 420 miles of pipeline have to remain above ground because they would heat up the frozen soils housing the pipelines, creating immediate risk to the integrity of the ground. So while it might not be the longest or most impressive pipeline, the design considerations surrounding its construction still makes it a unique pipeline worthy of note.
Though, most people think of pipelines as permanent, there is an obligation to remove the famous pipeline should there be no further use of it. Though we doubt that it’ll ever not be needed, it’s nice to know someone’s cleaning up after themselves!