Pipes, Big Pipes

Most people think that striking oil is the hardest part of making money off it. The thought is that as soon as you’ve found it, you’re set for life. But, nothing could be farther from the truth; the hardest part of getting rich on oil is getting it to the people who want and need it.

Oil companies don’t put the bulk of their investments in geological survey for oil deposits; most of it is put into pipeline construction and transportation. Crude oil is unusable in its raw state and needs to be refined; that’s where the oil needs to go. Before pipelines, oil companies had to make deals with railroad and trucking companies to transport their product, making the price higher.

Companies like Vista projects do the engineering and heavy lifting to find solutions to logistic difficulties. Such difficulties include not only pipeline construction, but to ensure they don’t disturb natural environments.

The most recent example is the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline that was initially blocked by environmental groups because it threatened the ecological stability of the local areas it would pass through.

Oil companies in Alberta have a lot to gain from proper construction of crude transport lines as Canada’s oil reserves were recently ranked second only to Saudi Arabia.

In order to make a profit out of anything, especially oil, you’ll need the right tools and the right people to make everything run as smoothly as possible.