Refined Products Pipelines

The nation's crude oil pipelines transport crude oil from oilfields to refineries where the oil is turned into dozens of useful products such as gasoline, home heating oil, jet fuel, diesel, lubricants and the raw materials for fertilizer, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Products pipelines then transport refined products to terminals or local distribution centers. Refined products are then distributed to the companies and consumers who rely on a steady and economically transported supply of these products.

Most gasoline and diesel fuel supplies are delivered to the marketplace by pipelines - from refineries to local distribution centers. Tanker trucks carry gasoline only the last few miles of the trip to individual service stations. Major American airports rely almost entirely on pipelines, and have dedicated pipelines to deliver jet fuel directly to the airport.

Almost all plastics are made from resins and other raw materials derived from oil. From our office desks to children's toys, we touch some sort of petroleum-based product almost every moment of our day.

There are approximately 95,000 miles nationwide of refined products pipelines. Refined products pipelines are found in almost every state in the U.S., with the exception of some New England states. These refined product pipelines vary in size from relatively small 8 to 12 inch diameter lines up to 42 inches in diameter.

The map below shows major refined products pipelines in the U.S.

Click here to learn more and view the complete report, How Pipelines Make the Oil Market Work, Allegro Energy Group, December 2001

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