Sumed Oil Pipeline
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Sumed Oil Pipeline (Suez-Mediterranean Oil Pipeline) is an oil pipeline in Egypt.[1]
Contents
Location
The pipeline runs from the Ain Sukhna terminal on the Gulf of Suez to the offshore Sidi Kerir, Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. The Sumed pipeline provides an alternative to the Suez Canal for transporting oil from the Persian Gulf region to the Mediterranean.[2]
Project Details
- Owners: Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC, 50%), Saudi Aramco (15%), iPic Gold Class Holdings (15%), three Kuwaiti companies (each 5%), QGPC (5%)[1]
- Current capacity: 2,500,000 barrels per day
- Proposed capacity:
- Length: 320 kilometers
- Status: Operating
- Start Year: 1977
Background
History
The project for an oil pipeline from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean commenced after the extended closure of the Suez Canal in June 1967.[3] Establishment of the pipeline company was agreed in 1973 between five Arab governments.[4] The Sumed pipeline was opened in 1977.[5][6] By linking from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, the pipeline which resides in Egypt alone acts as a cross-border pipeline, allowing Gulf nations to deliver oil to European markets. The pipeline is an essential alternative delivery system that both bypasses and compliments the use of tankers in the Suez Canal.[7]
Technical description
The Sumed pipeline is 320 kilometres (200 miles) long. It consists of two parallel lines of {42 inches (1,070 mm) diameter. Its capacity is 2.5 million barrels per day.[6] In 2009 it carried 1.1 million barrels per day.[8]
To give an example of the pipeline's role compared to the use of tankers, in 2000 the pipeline carried 2.2 million bpd were transported by the pipeline, mostly from Saudi Arabia, compared to 700,000 bpd transported by tanker through the Suez Canal.[9]
Operator
The pipeline is owned by the Arab Petroleum Pipeline Company/Sumed Company, a joint venture of Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (50%, Egypt), Saudi Aramco (15%, Saudi Arabia), International Petroleum Investment Company (15%, the United Arab Emirates), three Kuwaiti companies (each of 5%), and Qatar General Petroleum Corporation (5%, Qatar).[10]
Oil Spills
In August 2013, an oil spill occurred involving a tanker at the Sidi Kerir terminal (LAT: 31,130824;LON:29,75227) which lies on the Northern end of the Sumed oil pipeline. About 5,000 cubic meters of oil leaked during a 24 hour span and went largely unattended due to the Coup d’état and political turmoil occurring at the same time.[11]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sumed Oil Pipeline, Wikipedia, accessed September 2017
- ↑ "EIA Country Profile" US Energy Information Administration, retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ↑ Shwadran, Benjamin (1973). The Middle East, Oil, and the Great Powers. Israel Universities Press, 487. ISBN 978-0-470-79000-7.
- ↑ "Five Arab States Agree on Company For Sumed Pipeline", The New York Times (1973-12-12). Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
- ↑ Jehl, Douglas (1997-04-30). "Trying to revive a canal that is out of the loop", The New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Egypt to set up oil storage firm next year", Khaleej Times Online (2007-05-08). Retrieved on 2009-03-28.
- ↑ "Cross-Border Oil and Gas Pipelines: Problems and Prospects" Joint UNDP/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP), June 2003.
- ↑ Strumpf, Dan (2011-01-29). "Egypt unrest stokes oil, gold", The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 2011-02-06.
- ↑ "Cross-Border Oil and Gas Pipelines: Problems and Prospects" Joint UNDP/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP), June 2003.
- ↑ "Cross-Border Oil and Gas Pipelines: Problems and Prospects" Joint UNDP/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP), June 2003.
- ↑ EMODNET Oil Platform Leak Bulletin, European Marine Observation and Data Network, May 13, 2016
Related SourceWatch articles
External resources
External articles
Wikipedia also has an article on Sumed Oil Pipeline. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.
