1. As oil is produced, it is pumped immediately to shore 

 through a pipeline: onshore the oil can be (1) pumped 

 through pipelines to refining centers, or (2) stored 

 in large tanks at a transshipment terminal where it 

 will be pumped onto tankers for transport to distant 

 refining centers. 



2. The oil can be pumped to a central offshore storage 

 tank from which tankers transport the oil to refineries; 

 the oil is transferred from the tank to tankers via a 

 "single point mooring system." (Section 2.2.5) 



3. The oil is stored in large tanks within the platform's 

 base from which it is loaded via a "single-point 

 mooring system" onto tankers. 



4. The oil is pumped from the platform directly through 

 a "single-point mooring system" to a tanker; when the 

 tanker is filled, it departs and another takes its 

 place (this method has serious storage and cost 

 problems and is unlikely to be used). 



5. Oil is pumped from the platform onto a "ship- 

 shape" barge attached to a "single-point mooring 

 system"; the oil is transported to shore by trans- 

 ferring the oil from the barge to tankers shuttling 

 to refineries. 



Bulk carriers have a higher environmental risk than pipelines and 

 are not usually an economically attractive substitute for pipeline 

 transportation, if sufficient quantities of oil are available to satisfy 

 pipeline construction. Offshore loading facilities are required as well 

 as storage facilities to handle the oil produced while bulk carriers are 

 not loading. Transportation via bulk carriers is subject to interruption 

 by bad weather which may necessitate shutdown of production and inter- 

 ruption of supply. These factors discourage usage of bulk carriers. 

 There is, however, currently a surplus of tankers, and operators may be 

 reluctant to use pipelines unless there is a large cost-offset. Tankers 

 also provide flexibility. 



There are considerably fewer alternatives for the transport of gas 

 to consumption centers. This is largely because gas is such a high- 

 volume to value commodity. Its volume can be reduced in order to reduce 

 its cost of transport, but costs are incurred in processing to reduce 

 volume. The ship alternative requires the gas to be liquefied prior to 

 shipment by a process using very low temperatures. This requirement, 

 together with the special carriers needed to move the liquefied natural 

 gas ( LNG) greatly increases capital cost. The result is that pipelines 



103 



