# New way to ship oil? No pipelines needed. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 7, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-way-to-ship-oil-no-pipelines-needed/795696 "2017-09-07T00:54:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b5a626/32.png) [@Pippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pippers)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-way-to-ship-oil-no-pipelines-needed/795696/1 "2017-09-07T00:54:44Z")
> **[Balls of bitumen: Calgary breakthrough could bypass pipeline problem,...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bitumen-balls-pellets-pipelines-rail-train-transport-energy-alberta-technology-1.4277320)** > > A Calgary engineer thinks an invention he stumbled upon in the laboratory could transform the way Alberta gets its heavy oil to market. I hope this is really possible. Making shipments safer and easier. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-way-to-ship-oil-no-pipelines-needed/795696/2 "2017-09-07T01:00:47Z")
That’s really interesting. Congrats to the researchers at the University of Calgary. Here’s hoping that the pipeline companies don’t work hard to suppress this research! ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-way-to-ship-oil-no-pipelines-needed/795696/3 "2017-09-07T16:31:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > That’s really interesting. Congrats to the researchers at the University of Calgary. Here’s hoping that the pipeline companies don’t work hard to suppress this research! The article itself, and the researcher involved, both make a point of saying it’s not a universal pipeline-replacement technology. [Quote=Dr. Ian Gates] Pipelines, they have their role. I don’t think it will replace pipelines. This just offers one more mode of transport. [/quote] If this technology replaces anything, it’s heated tank cars. Applicability is very limited: very heavy crude, essentially bitumen. Tar, extracted from tar sands and shales. To eliminate the need to heat tank cars to load or unload. Light crude (or anything else liquid enough for pipeline) will still be transported by pipeline, because it’s [significantly cheaper per mass-distance than rail](https://www.forbes.com/sites/tortoiseinvest/2016/05/13/transporting-oil-why-pipelines-still-rule/#551dcaa412dc). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-way-to-ship-oil-no-pipelines-needed/795696/4 "2017-09-07T17:05:05Z")
Sounds like some archaic swear or curse: “Bitumen’s balls, that hurt!” “By the balls of Bitumen, you shall be avenged!” ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-way-to-ship-oil-no-pipelines-needed/795696/5 "2017-09-07T17:41:50Z")
How comparatively energy efficient is the transportation process? ---
**Author:** ![Ennui](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ennui/32/3396_2.png) [@Ennui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ennui)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-way-to-ship-oil-no-pipelines-needed/795696/6 "2017-09-09T03:52:51Z")
It will never survive the patent lawsuit from Kramerica Industries: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OLFcVbJUSDs/maxresdefault.jpg "Kramerica Industries") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLFcVbJUSDs) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-way-to-ship-oil-no-pipelines-needed/795696/7 "2017-09-09T06:40:23Z")
Considering that for most products, you have to ship light oil along with the pellets so as to reconstitute the original heavy oil, I’m not sure what kind of efficiency or safety improvements this tech provides. If the train derails, you still have that light oil spilled. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-way-to-ship-oil-no-pipelines-needed/795696/8 "2017-09-09T23:39:32Z")
I was really hoping the new way to ship oil was going to be blimps. (I have a pellet gun.)