Managing Distribution in Refined Products Pipelines Using Discrete-Event Simulation

Introduction

Pipeline management plays a key role in the petroleum business. Refined products pipelines are regarded as the most reliable and cost-efficient way to transport large amounts of liquid fuels over long distances. In contrast to other transportation modes, pipelines can operate continuously with almost no interruptions despite bad weather conditions. Furthermore, they have an important edge on environmental and safety issues. Pipelines transport a variety of oil derivatives in successive batches and operate in two different ways: segregated or fungible mode. Segregated products are branded or blend stock materials destined for some specific client so that the same batch that is received for shipment in the origin is delivered to the client. Moreover, fungible batches consist of generic products fulfilling standard specifications. Shippers will receive a batch containing an equivalent product featuring the same specifications, but may not be the original lot they provide at the origin.