Sumed Oil Pipeline

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Sumed Oil Pipeline (Suez-Mediterranean Oil Pipeline)، خط أنابيب سوميد ، خط أنابيب البحر المتوسط-السويس is an operating oil pipeline in Egypt.

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 two Sumed pipelines(42inch and 320 km each) provide an alternative to the Suez Canal for transporting oil from the Persian Gulf region to the Mediterranean.

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Project details

Pipeline 1

• Operator: Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company (SUMED)
• Owner: Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company (SUMED)
• Parent company: Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) (50%); Mubadala Investment Company (15%); Saudi Aramco (15%); Kuwait Investment Authority (15%); Qatar Petroleum )

• Capacity: 1,250,000 barrels per day
  • This presumes the two pipelines carry equal capacity and add up to the reported 2.5 million bpd
• Length: 320 km
• Diameter: 42 in
• Status: Operating
• Start year: 1977

Pipeline 2

• Operator: Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company (SUMED)
• Owner: Arab Petroleum Pipelines Company (SUMED)
• Parent company: Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) (50%); Mubadala Investment Company (15%); Saudi Aramco (15%); Kuwait Investment Authority (15%); Qatar Petroleum )

• Capacity: 1,250,000 barrels per day
  • This presumes the two pipelines carry equal capacity and add up to the reported 2.5 million bpd
• Length: 320 km
• Diameter: 42 in
• 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. Establishment of the pipeline company was agreed in 1973 between five Arab governments. The Sumed pipeline was opened in 1977. 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.

Technical description

The Sumed pipeline consists of two parallel lines, 42 inches and 320km each. Its total capacity is 2.5 million barrels per day. In 2009 it carried 1.1 million barrels per day.

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.

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).

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.

Articles and 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.