Explore the Global Oil Infrastructure Tracker
The Global Oil Infrastructure Tracker (GOIT) collects asset-level data on oil transmission pipelines globally. Explore the data below, pan through our interactive map, and download the dataset here.
The global expansion over time
Pipeline projects take a long time to build, since it can be complicated to get the necessary permits and rights of way, and their development can go through multiple states of attention and abandonment.
Since 2019, the building and startup of oil transmission pipelines has slowed, in large part a result of immediate construction slowdowns due to Covid-19, and the residual global energy and economic impacts that have lingered.
But even before Covid-19, projects stalled in their development. Some pipelines have been proposed — and continue to be promoted by their developers or home countries — since as early as the 1980s:
- The Basra-Aqaba Oil Pipeline was first proposed in 1983 and later abandoned, and after nearly 40 years, the Iraqi cabinet approved it.
- The Burgas-Alexandroupolis Oil Pipeline was proposed in 1993, cancelled by Bulgaria in 2011, and revived in 2022.
- The East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) was proposed in 2006 and only received funding in 2022.
Where oil pipelines are being built
Asia and Africa lead the planned global buildout. Important oil export regions like North America and the Middle East also continue to expand.
Companies leading the charge
70% of pipelines are being developed by 20 companies.
These developers tend to be either state-owned enterprises like the Iraq Ministry of Oil, currently developing pipeline infrastructure in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan, or multinational oil majors like France’s TotalEnergies, building pipelines in Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Uganda.
The buildout will be costly
Africa and Asia, including the Middle East, have the priciest oil pipeline buildouts.
Countries like Iraq and the United States are developing oil pipelines to increase their export capacity, while importers like China and India are building infrastructure to serve refineries and petrochemical complexes. Argentina and Sub-Saharan African countries are planning major buildouts with the hope of capitalizing on local oil reserves and becoming globally relevant exporters.
Download data from the Global Oil Infrastructure Tracker, including pipeline routes in GIS format, here.