Where are the Pipelines?

Liquid Pipelines

More than 190,000 miles of liquid petroleum pipelines traverse the United States. They connect producing areas to refineries and chemical plants while delivering the products American consumers and businesses need. Pipelines are safe, efficient and, because most are buried, largely unseen. They move crude oil from oil fields on land and offshore to refineries where it is turned into fuels and other products, then from the refineries to terminals where fuels are trucked to retail outlets. Pipelines operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Natural Gas Pipelines

Natural gas is delivered directly to homes and businesses through local distribution lines from local distribution companies. Large distribution lines, called mains, move the gas close to cities. These main lines, along with the much smaller service lines that travel to homes and businesses account for the vast majority of the nation’s 2.4-million- mile underground pipeline system.