Pipelines

Learn about oil and gas pipeline impacts through FracTracker articles, maps, and imagery.

Oil & Gas Pipelines

North America consists of a vast network of inter- and intrastate pipelines that transport products ranging from water to hazardous liquids to raw materials. The U.S. oil and gas pipeline network is estimated to be 2.6 million miles in length, delivering trillions of cubic feet of natural gas and hundreds of billions of tons of liquid petroleum products each year. The infrastructure’s main environmental health and safety risks include: land use and forest fragmentation, compressor station emissions, erosion and sedimentation, spills and leaks, and explosions.

Explore our site’s various articles about oil and gas pipeline issues below, listed in descending order by date.

The Falcon Public EIA Project

In the summer of 2018, FracTracker released a detailed environmental impact assessment (EIA), including digital maps, of the Falcon Ethane Pipeline

Related Articles

Tennessee Pipeline Incident by Ted Auch, 2022, with support from LightHawk.Ted Auch, FracTracker Alliance, 2022

2022 Pipeline Incidents Update: Is Pipeline Safety Achievable?

/
This analysis provides a top-level summary of pipeline incidents reported to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and examines whether or not safe oversight of the industry is possible.
Stacked pipes used in constructing oil and gas pipelines

A Contentious Landscape of Pipeline Build-outs in the Eastern US

/
In this article, we’ll feature four contentious pipeline build-outs in the Eastern United States, show ways in which those pipelines impact natural and human communities, and provide examples of how environmental advocates have challenged these projects, with varying degrees of success.

Coursing Through Gasland: A Digital Atlas Exploring Natural Gas Development in the Towanda Creek Watershed

This digital atlas exploring natural gas development in the Towanda Creek watershed is the fourth in a series of FracTracker Alliance watershed impact analyses in the Susquehanna River Basin.

Falcon Pipeline Online, Begins Operations Following Violations of Clean Streams Law

/
The Shell ethane cracker in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and Falcon Pipeline begin operations following civil penalties from Pennsylvania regulators for violations of the Clean Streams Law.

Pipeline Right-of-Ways: Making the Connection between Forest Fragmentation and the Spread of Lyme Disease in Southwestern Pennsylvania

/
While many ecological factors may contribute to the spread of Lyme disease, two of the most significant factors are believed to be climate change and forest fragmentation. This study assesses the role that different pipeline construction proxies play in the change in average annual Lyme disease rate in Pennsylvania counties from 2001 to 2019.
Map of potential carbon capture technology

An Insider Take on the Appalachian Hydrogen & CCUS Conference

Reflections on the Appalachian Hydrogen and Carbon Capture conference, and how companies hope to use new tech to prolong fossil fuel dependence
Explore More Topics Explore FracTracker Maps

Download the FracTracker Mobile App

Looking for a map of US pipelines that you can access from your phone? Download our free mobile app.

Mobile app update release feature image