Crude oil is a raw material used to produce valuable fuels like gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, and other petroleum products. With growing global energy demand, transporting crude oil effectively from production facilities to refineries has become critical. The global crude transportation market relies on pipelines, rail tank cars as well as marine tankers and oil tank trucks for long-distance shipments. The global Crude Transportation Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 21.58 Bn in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.0% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.
Market key trends:
Increased investment in pipeline expansion projects is expected to be a key growth driver for the crude transportation market during the forecast period. To efficiently handle rising crude trade volumes, pipeline companies are investing in debottlenecking and adding pumping stations to enhance capacities of existing pipelines as well as construction of new pipelines. For example, Enbridge Inc. invested over US$ 7 Bn in 2017-2019 on the Lakehead System, the world’s longest crude oil pipeline system, to add 585 thousand barrels per day of capacity. Such investments to strengthen and expand pipeline networks are anticipated to boost the overall demand for crude transportation services.
Segment Analysis
The global crude oil transportation market is dominated by pipeline transportation segment. Pipelines offer cost effective means for transporting crude oil over long distances as compared to other modes of transportation such as rail, road and shipping. According to estimates, around 65% of the total crude oil volumes globally are transported through pipelines. Domestic pipeline networks are present in major crude oil producing and consuming countries such as United States, Russia, Canada, Saudi Arabia and China. The dominance of pipelines can be attributed to their ability to handle bulk volumes and provide door-to-door delivery of crude without requiring transfer to/from railcars, trucks or vessels.
Key Takeaways
The global crude transportation market is expected to witness high growth. The market demand is projected to grow from $21.58 billion in 2024 to $34.19 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 6.0% during the forecast period.
Regional analysis: North America currently accounts for the largest share in the global crude oil transportation market due to extensive pipeline network and growing production from shale reserves. The U.S. pipeline network transports around 3 million barrels of crude oil per day to refineries. However, Asia Pacific region is expected to emerge as the fastest growing regional market owing to rising energy demand from China, India and other developing countries. China has been investing heavily in construction of new pipelines both within the country and for international projects under Belt and Road Initiative to meet its demand.
Key players operating in the crude transportation market are ExxonMobil Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron Corporation, BP plc, TotalEnergies SE, ConocoPhillips, China National Petroleum Corporation, Saudi Aramco, Rosneft Oil Company, Valero Energy Corporation, Phillips 66, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, PetroChina Company Limited, Kinder Morgan Inc. and Enbridge Inc. ExxonMobil has one of the world’s largest pipeline networks for crude oil distribution. Royal Dutch Shell and BP also own an extensive pipeline infrastructure for crude oil transportation globally.
*Note:
- Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
- We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it