Key Facts
Pipelines are the safest, most environmentally responsible method of transporting oil and natural gas. With over 2.5 million miles of pipeline crisscrossing the United States and roughly 466,000 miles of pipeline throughout the state of Texas, pipelines play a crucial role in ensuring safe, efficient delivery of the energy we use every day. But even with this extensive pipeline network, more capacity is needed to allow the Texas energy boom to continue, as well as making sure Texas oil and natural gas reach consumers at home and our trading partners abroad.
1. More Texas Jobs
More pipelines = more jobs. Additional pipeline development is estimated to support 171,000 Texas jobs annually. Every mile of oil pipeline construction creates approximately 24 jobs, and every mile of natural gas pipeline construction creates approximately 58 jobs.
2. A Stronger Economy
Pipelines generate jobs and increase state and local government revenues. Between 2014-2024, the Texas pipeline industry is expected to contribute $374 billion in total economic output.
3. Safer Roads
By replacing trucks transporting oil and natural gas, additional pipelines help to reduce traffic emissions, decrease wear on roads and alleviate traffic congestion.
4. Increased Energy Security
During disaster situations when roads might be unusable or unsafe, pipelines can deliver vital, and sometimes life-saving, fuel to first responders and impacted communities, helping to improve safety.
5. More Texas Energy Production
With oil production from the Permian alone expected to account for about 33 percent of the nation’s total output, new pipeline capacity is critical to make sure these resources reach consumers around the country.
6. More Exports, Lower Trade Deficit
Crude oil exports are poised to double by 2020 as more pipelines come online and Permian pipeline constraints are alleviated. We need more pipelines and infrastructure to move the record-high oil and natural gas output in the Permian Basin to facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast for export overseas markets.
Texas recently opened its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal, with several expected to come online in the Lone Star State over the next few years. Add this to the number of crude oil export terminals planned for the Texas Gulf Coast, and it’s obvious new pipelines will be needed to supply these facilities with reliable oil and gas for shipment around the world.
The Fast Facts on Pipelines
From jobs and tax revenue to helping us reduce emissions, pipelines are a critical part of our daily lives in Texas and across the United States. In fact, there are more than 2.7 million miles of pipelines in America that communities from coast to coast depend on every day. In Texas alone, 440,000 miles of pipelines connect the Panhandle and the Permian to Beaumont and Brownsville – and pretty much everywhere in between.
Pipelines are the safest and most efficient method of transporting oil, natural gas and other petroleum products.
- Pipelines have a 99.999% safety record.
- According to the American Gas Foundation, the natural gas industry dedicates about $19 billion annually to safeguarding the nation’s natural gas transmission and distribution lines.
- According to the Texas Pipeline Association, Texas was the first state to adopt pipeline safety regulations, beginning in the 1930s.
“Pipelines enable the safe movement of extraordinary quantities of energy products to industry and consumers, literally fueling our economy and way of life.” – Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
Pipelines help keep the economy pumping.
- For every mile of oil pipeline constructed, there are 24.1 jobs created.
- For every mile of natural gas pipeline constructed, there are 57.9 jobs created.
- It is estimated that pipelines in Texas will contribute $374 billion in total economic output between 2014 and 2024.
The annual salary for workers in natural gas distribution, for example, averages $78,890 according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Pipelines lower greenhouse gas emissions.
- Pipelines enable the transition to natural gas for power generation, which lowers air emissions. Since 2005, the increased use of natural gas to generate electricity has prevented more than 2.8 billion metric tons of CO2 from being emitted, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration
- Pipelines help reduce flaring. As pipeline infrastructure to key regions like the Permian Basin increase, flaring decreases. Natural gas is a valuable commodity that can be captured, transported and marketed; with the right infrastructure in place, operators are not forced to flare.
- Between 1990 and 2018, U.S. pipeline mileage increased by 373,000 miles. In that same time span, methane emissions decreased 43%.
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