Evening star., 1942-06-28
Hows and Why's Of Pipelines

so we'll" one oil man said that, with
only approximately accurate informa-
ton, they will estimate the cost of the
job making the contract at so much a
foot"
Then the contractors move in with
their crews and their machines bull
dozers, ditchers scrapers, trucks. Some
times they have to cut through woods
or burrow under stream.
The pipe, usually in 4o-foot lengths, is
delivered to the railroad point nearest
to where the contractors are actually
working.
The soil is analyzed,'' an oil man ex-
planned. ito determine its effect on the
pipe. If it is sweet earth. the pipe is
laid bare. II it is corrosive or acid soil,
the pipe is coated with tar and wrapped
in rags, felt or. paper before being
covered with the earth.
Some pipe 40 years in the ground
still is in such perfect condition that
the mill mark can be read on it. Other
pipe. laid in corrosive SOIL has rotted
and had to be replaced"
The pipes are welded above ground,
close to the ditch in which they are to
be placed Then they are moved into
the ditch, usually about feet below the
surface. and covered with earth. There
they stay.
Claims for Damage
But all the oil companies have claim
agents permanently resident in specified
districts along the route Of the line. for
frequently-and for several reasons. such
as corrosion or too much pressure-pipes
break and pour oil through a farmers
land. His claims for damage have to be
adjusted and the break in the line re-
ported Immediately.
But while the pipes are being laid.
other crews are building pumping
Enthusiastically 40 miles apart-along
the line. These are the hearts" of the
conPany's oil arterial system.
Plugged in on the line, they use pres
sure to keep the oil flowing. The more
the pressure or the greater the num-
ber of pumping stations, the greater the
flow of oil.
This was illustrated in the case Of
the new Longview-Salem line. when the
WPB, planning for pumping stations
so miles apart. said the capacity of the
line could be increased later with the
addition of more stations.
These stations need coed planning be-
fore they are built, because natural
difficulties are plentiful. For instance,
a station might be needed at the south
ern base OF hill over which the Oil is
flowing north, in order to give it the
pressure to get over the hill.
However, if later, for some reason,
the direction of the oil flow had to be
reversed, the location Of the pumping
station might have to be transferred
to the northern side of the hill
Flow Is Reversed
There is a current example of this in
New ersey-Pennsylvania line. Be
fore the Eastern oil shortage. finished
product from a New Jersey refinery
flowed westward through the pipe to
the Western Pennsylvania area.
This flow has now been reversed, so
that oil Is flowing eastward from PENN
sylvania to the New Jersey refinery.
But these big pipelines are only part
Of the general pipeline picture, They
are the great arteries of the industry.
running across country. But the oil
fields themselves are network Of pipe
lines.
In each field there are tanks with Oil
being piped into them from the sur
rounding wells. From these tanks the
oil is piped into great tanks called
gathering stations" with most Of these
operations depending on gravity. instead
Of pumping stations, to control the flow.
The oil then is pumped from the
gathering stations into mainline sta
tions, which release the oil into ths
great pipelines along which the pump
ing stations boost" the flow.
Some Of the pipelines carry crude oil
such as the Longview-S Salem line is ex.
pected to do-from the producing area
to the refinery.
Other pipes carry crude from the
fields to nearby refinery from which
the finished product later is carried
through the great ~ to outlet ''n'sr''