Like oil rigs and refineries, transportation and storage infrastructure for crude oil, NGL, and condensate requires thoughtful design and implementation that considers regulatory, safety, and environmental factors. Yet no matter how carefully planned, a pipeline or storage tank isn’t just designed, constructed, and left to function. The market and technology changes, and the industry must also adapt.

Standards and regulations affecting pipeline and petrochemical transportation projects aren’t static; they change not only nationally but also at the state level. A recent example includes the December approval of North Dakota’s new oil conditioning rules increased the required vapor pressure of crude oil above the national standard in an effort to improve transportation safety. This will require additional considerations from not only producers but also designers of pipelines and railway cars, affecting new construction and existing infrastructure alike in North Dakota and beyond.

Given a glut of petrochemicals as well as a lack of storage and the current economic environment, producers and distributors (among others) are adapting by improving new and existing infrastructure as well as reducing associated costs. Technical analysts like DNV GL have already conducted research into “key issues impacting the costs of complex pipeline projects,” citing regulatory environments, installation costs, and ineffective business models as some of the factors influencing inefficiencies and cost overruns.

DNV mentioned several other important issues. First, a shortage of workers skilled in infrastructure design and construction for transportation and storage projects has driven salaries higher. The New York Times touched upon this problem in March, reporting that demand for qualified welders could increase by 10 percent in the next decade as “the energy boom continues to spawn petrochemical plants and miles of new pipeline.” Second, the technology used in pipeline and transport cars doesn’t remain static either. As demand for longer service periods, more durable builds, and decreased maintenance requirements drive the introduction of new technologies into new constructions, complexities in design, testing, and deployment arise. The new tech takes time to learn, compounded by the lack of qualified engineers to rapidly and safely implement it. All said, industry experts are continuing to look for ways to address these and other issues that continue to keep the industry in a state of change.