The main oil consumers in the world are industrialized countries in the West and Pan-Pacific, while the oil-producing areas are mainly concentrated in the underdeveloped areas such as the Middle East, Caspian Sea, South America and West Africa, which will inevitably lead to the internationalization of oil trade. International oil trade involves a wide range of areas, which consists of hundreds of thousands of kilometers of pipelines, hundreds of ports, thousands of tankers and a huge route network to form a land-sea combined transport system. Oil transportation can take various forms such as sea transportation, land transportation, air transportation, combined transportation and pipeline transportation. Because the major oil importing countries and major oil exporting countries are separated by oceans, and the import volume is huge, at present, oil transportation is mainly by sea. Maritime shipping has the advantages of large volume, low freight rate and no restrictions by roads and railways. Natural gas, on the other hand, is mostly in gaseous form, so the transportation of natural gas is more complicated than that of oil, and it also involves the liquefaction of gaseous natural gas.
Maritime routes At present, the maritime transport routes mainly include: Persian Gulf-Cape of Good Hope-Western Europe and North America, Persian Gulf-Lombok Strait-makassar strait (Straits of Malacca and Singapore)-Japan, Persian Gulf-Suez Canal-Mediterranean-Western Europe and North America, etc. With the vigorous development of international oil trade, the role and importance of major transportation channels have been greatly improved. As the starting point or relay station of these routes, the straits and canals, because of their special geographical location, have become the "throat" to ensure smooth and unimpeded oil shipping.
Maritime transportation line (1) Mande Strait.
The Mande Strait is located between the southwestern tip of Arabian Peninsula and the African continent, with neighboring countries Djibouti, Eritrea and Yemen. It runs northwest-southeast, connecting the southern tip of the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea, and is known as the "water corridor" connecting Europe, Asia and Africa. Mande Strait is 18 kilometers long and 25 ~ 32 kilometers wide. There are several small islands at the entrance, among which Pirin Island is the largest, covering an area of 13 square kilometers. At present, the daily throughput of oil is 3.2 million to 3.3 million barrels. The main destinations of oil exports are Europe, the United States and Asia.
(2) the Strait of Hormuz.
the Strait of Hormuz is located between Iran and Arabian Peninsula, connecting Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. It is about 151km long from east to west and 64-97km wide from north to south. At present, the daily throughput of oil is 13 million barrels. The main destinations of oil exports are Europe, North America, Southeast Asia and Oceania.
the Strait of Hormuz is the export of the Persian Gulf. After the endless stream of giant tankers pass through the strait, they send oil to consuming countries and regions in three channels: one passes through the Persian Gulf-Cape of Good Hope-North Atlantic to European countries; One goes through the Persian Gulf-Suez Canal-Mediterranean Sea and also to European countries; The other one passes through the Persian Gulf-Malacca Strait-Pacific Ocean to Japan, North America and Oceania countries. Therefore, the Strait of Hormuz can be described as the oil "artery" of western countries. In Persian, "Hormuz" means "god of light". Once it is blocked or affected, the western world will fall into darkness.
(3) Bosphorus.
The Bosporus Strait, also known as the Istanbul Strait, connects the Black Sea to the north, Malakhei to the south and the Mediterranean Sea, and divides Turkey into Asia and Europe. The total length of the Strait is 31.4 kilometers, the widest point is 3.4 kilometers, the narrowest point is 718 meters, the deepest point is 121 meters, and the shallowest point is only 27.5 meters. At present, the daily throughput of oil is 2 million barrels, almost all of which are transported southward, mainly crude oil, plus hundreds of thousands of barrels of refined oil every day. The main destinations of oil transportation are western Europe and southern Europe.
The Bosporus Strait is the main traffic artery connecting Europe and Asia, and also the first gateway for countries along the Black Sea to go out to sea, and its geographical location is of strategic significance.
Although the narrowest part is only 718 meters, it is one of the busiest straits in the world, with about 51,111 ships passing through it every year, including about 5,511 oil tankers, making it the most difficult "throat" waterway in the world. Many of the export routes of Gulf oil go westward through the Black Sea and Bosporus Strait to the Mediterranean Sea and the world oil market.
(4) Panama Canal/oil pipeline crossing Panama.
The Panama Canal is located in the middle of Panama, America, connecting Panama City in the Pacific Ocean and Cologne City (Panama Port) in the Caribbean Sea. It is an important shipping route connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The Panama Canal is 81.3 kilometers long, with a water depth ranging from 13 to 15 meters and a river width ranging from 151 to 314 meters. The water level of the whole canal is 26 meters higher than that of the two oceans, and there are six shiplocks. At present, the daily throughput of oil is 613,111 barrels. The main destination of oil transportation is North America.
In p>2112, among all the materials carried by ships through Panama Canal (in terms of tonnage), the transportation volume of oil and refined oil was the largest, accounting for 1.6%. 64% of the oil tankers are sailing southward, entering the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean through canals, and mainly transporting refined oil.
(5) Suez Canal/Sami Oil Pipeline.
The Suez Canal is located in Egypt, which connects Europe, Asia and Africa, connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and connects the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. The total length of the canal is 175 kilometers, with an average width of 135 meters and a depth of 22.5 meters. The Suez Canal/Sumed oil pipeline currently has a daily oil throughput of 3.8 million barrels, of which the daily oil throughput of Sumed pipeline (all oil comes from Saudi Arabia) is 2.5 million barrels, and the remaining 1.3 million barrels are transported through the canal. Most of the oil export destinations are shipped to Europe, and a small number are shipped to the United States.
the Suez canal greatly shortened the voyage between east and west. Compared with bypassing the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, it is 5511 ~ 8119 kilometers shorter from the countries along the Atlantic coast of Europe to the Indian Ocean. Shorten 8111 ~ 11111 kilometers from Mediterranean countries to the Indian Ocean; For the Black Sea coast, it is shortened by 12,111 kilometers, which is a waterway with important strategic significance in international shipping. If the Suez Canal and Samid pipeline are blocked and oil transportation is interrupted, all tankers will have to detour the Cape of Good Hope, which will greatly increase the transportation time and cost.
(6) Malacca Strait.
Malacca Strait is a narrow waterway connecting the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, with a total length of about 1,181 kilometers. It is an important shipping passage between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and is known as "Gibraltar in the East". The southeast exit of the Strait is Singapore. At present, the daily oil throughput is 11.3 million barrels. Oil export destinations include China, Japan, South Korea and other Pacific Rim countries.
(7) Russian oil and gas export pipelines/ports.
Russia's oil reserves rank sixth in the world, and its oil output and export volume rank second only to Saudi Arabia. Natural gas reserves and exports rank first in the world. Russia's oil and gas export ports are mainly Novorossiysk port in the Black Sea and Primorsk port in the Baltic Sea (north of Leningrad and along the Gulf of Finland). Oil and gas export pipelines mainly pass through eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Poland. In 2112, the daily export volume of Russian oil exceeded 4.5 million barrels; The annual export volume of natural gas exceeds 6.7 trillion cubic feet (189.6 billion cubic meters). Oil and gas export destinations include Eastern Europe, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France and other Western European countries.
The pipeline transportation of oil has the advantages of large capacity, safety, convenience and low freight rate, so it has become the link between oil fields, oil ports and refineries in various countries, and it is also a complementary transportation mode with oil tankers in oil import and export trade. The development of oil and gas pipelines in the world has two characteristics, one is the formation of a long-distance and large-caliber pipeline system, and the other is that the pipelines are widely distributed, but mainly concentrated in North America, Western Europe and the former Soviet Union, where natural gas pipelines are scattered and have achieved international networking. For example, the density of natural gas trunk lines is 1.85m/km2 in the United States, 265m/km2 in the Netherlands and 48m/km2 in France. The United States leads the world in the scale and complexity of natural gas pipeline infrastructure. By the end of 1999, there were 41,825 kilometers of long-distance natural gas pipelines in the United States, and there were more than 1,111 interstate natural gas pipeline companies, and the pipeline networks were spread all over 48 local states. In addition, the United States, Canada and Mexico have 6 and 4 international gas supply pipelines respectively.
the supply of natural gas in western Europe was initially regional, but after the discovery of Gningen gas field in the Netherlands, the construction of natural gas pipeline network system began in western Europe. Eastern Europe is also actively expanding its gas pipeline. In terms of the number of participating countries, the natural gas market in Europe is the most complex natural gas pipeline network in the world, with 211 million natural gas users.
in recent years, with the growth of natural gas demand, the construction of gas pipelines has grown steadily. The increasing demand for plot fuel in Europe is promoting the implementation of natural gas pipeline construction projects from the former Soviet Union, North Africa and the North Sea. Among the projects currently under construction and planned in Europe, there are Zee Pipeline II, "European Pipeline", Holten Pipeline and Euro-Maghreb Pipeline from Beihai and Algeria. The repair and new construction plan of gas transmission and distribution pipelines in eastern Europe is under way. The increase of gas pipeline length in North Africa is closely related to the European natural gas expansion project. Algeria and Morocco are beginning to build the Euro-Maghreb pipeline system in their own countries. In the Asia-Pacific region, natural gas and pipeline construction have great development prospects. The project of transporting natural gas from the Russian Far East to South Korea and Japan is becoming the largest pipeline project in the Far East.
In terms of pipeline construction and development in various countries (regions) around the world, it has the following characteristics:
First, oil and gas pipeline construction is closely related to economy and resources. Oil and gas transportation in the world, especially in North America, Western Europe and the former Soviet Union, are the most developed areas in the world. The former two are the most economically developed areas in the world, and the latter is the area with the largest natural gas reserves in the world. They all have a strong desire for oil and gas consumption.
second, oil and gas consumption is the main driving force for pipeline construction. North America, Western Europe, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East are the most developed areas of natural gas and oil pipelines, and the first three are also the largest consumption areas of natural gas in the world.
thirdly, it is a prerequisite for the development of oil and gas pipelines that the oil and gas producing areas are far away from the consumption areas. From the analysis of world reserves distribution, this phenomenon of serious separation between production and demand areas will continue to promote the development of oil and gas pipelines.
LNG shipping LNG is to liquefy gaseous natural gas for transportation, which mainly refers to maritime shipping. The Asia-Pacific region has the largest trade volume of LNG, followed by Europe. The countries exporting LNG mainly include Indonesia, Malaysia, Algeria, Qatar, Brunei and other countries. In the Asia-Pacific region, except for Malaysia, a small amount of LNG is exported to Europe and Spain, and all LNG from Indonesia, Brunei and other countries are exported to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan Province, China. In addition, in the Middle East, LNG from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and other countries is exported to Europe and the United States, and a large number of LNG is exported to Japan and South Korea. China can import LNG from Indonesia and other countries to ensure the diversification of China's energy supply. Judging from the above import and export countries of LNG, it is basically consistent with the import and export direction of oil, so its transportation characteristics are basically the same. To ensure the national oil and gas supply, we must take into account the safety of all these transportation channels.