Components
The Trans Alaska Pipeline crossing under the Tanana River and over ridge of the Alaska Range
Pipeline networks are composed of several pieces of equipment that operate together to move products from location to location. The main elements of a pipeline system are:
Initial injection station
Known also as supply or inlet station, is the beginning of the system, where the product is injected into the line. Storage facilities, pumps or compressors are usually located at these locations. Continue reading →

Field devices are instrumentation, data gathering units and communication systems. The field Instrumentation includes flow, pressure and temperature gauges/transmitters, and other devices to measure the relevant data required. These instruments are installed along the pipeline on some specific locations, such as injection or delivery stations, pump stations (liquid pipelines) or compressor stations (gas pipelines), and block valve stations.
The information measured by these field instruments is then gathered in local Remote Terminal Units (RTU) that transfer the field data to a central location in real time using communication systems, such as satellite channels, microwave links, or cellular phone connections.
Pipelines are controlled and operated remotely, from what is usually known as The Main Control Room. In this center, all the data related to field measurement is consolidated in one central database. The data is received from multiple RTUs along the pipeline. It is common to find RTUs installed at every station along the pipeline.
Continue reading →