|
Well they can interconnect for sure. When the Seven Sisters came out of Standard Oil, there was a definite connection between refineries and oil fields. The infrastructure just wasn't there to transfer oil for many miles and shipping by truck wasn't cost-effective. In the early boom days in Oklahoma, there were cases of oil wells being allowed to flow on the ground, into rivers and ultimately into large holding pits where it was pumped onto railroad cars. There is a huge Superfund site in northern Oklahoma where this happened. Today, the reality is quite different. Refineries and oilfields are generally widely separated. Bakersfield is a big exception for one reason. The oil pumped in that area is what we call heavy crude. It is like tar and won't flow easily so transshipment by pipeline just isn't that cost-effective. It can be done, but since that grade of crude oil doesn't fetch as high a price, they can't afford to ship it very far.
|