# Oil and product pipelines: Value chain

State giants, toll-earning operators and the regulators watching them

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/valuechain/

What this tab covers Who does what, from equipment makers to builders, owners, operators, traders and users, with the leading companies at each step.

Steel makers and pipe mills supply the line pipe. Engineering firms build the pipelines. Mostly regulated or state-owned operators run them, shippers book space on them, and regulators set tolls and safety rules.

#### The chain
 State and national owners Commercial pipeline operators Regulators: tolls Regulators: safety Shippers and end users

| Stage | What happens | Leading companies |
|---|---|---|
| **State and national owners** | Build and run export and bypass lines tied to national oil production | Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia), East-West pipeline Trans Mountain Corporation (Canada, federally owned) JANAF (Croatia), Adria pipeline^[11](https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/saudi_arabia_restores_key_pipeline_to_half_its_capacity-28-sep-2026-184718-article/)^[13](https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/major-projects-office/projects/national/west.html)^[19](https://pgjonline.com/news/2026/february/mol-secures-tanker-crude-boosts-adriatic-pipeline-flows-as-druzhba-outage-persists) |
| **Commercial pipeline operators** | Own and run crude and product networks and earn regulated tolls | Colonial Pipeline Company (US), main East Coast products line Pembina Pipeline (Canada), 10% partner in the proposed West Coast Oil Pipeline^[2](https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2025-05-07_R44201_0c6a72e5a4eab76953162d263010f08eee1dcc67.html)^[13](https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/major-projects-office/projects/national/west.html) |
| **Regulators: tolls** | Set or cap the tolls shippers pay | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC (US) Canada Energy Regulator (Canada)^[6](https://www.velaw.com/insights/ferc-adopts-ppi-fg-minus-0-55-oil-pipeline-index-for-2026-2031/)^[7](https://cer-rec.gc.ca/en/about/news-room/news-releases/2023/cer-sets-interim-tolls-for-expanded-trans-mountain-pipeline-system.html) |
| **Regulators: safety** | Write and enforce rules on design, inspection and incident reporting | PHMSA, Office of Pipeline Safety (US) US state pipeline inspectors (444 in 2024)^[1](https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics/pipeline/annual-report-mileage-hazardous-liquid-or-carbon-dioxide-systems)^[2](https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2025-05-07_R44201_0c6a72e5a4eab76953162d263010f08eee1dcc67.html) |
| **Shippers and end users** | Producers, traders and refiners who book capacity and own the oil in the pipe | MOL Group and its Slovnaft refinery (Hungary, Slovakia), supplied by Druzhba Saudi Aramco's Red Sea export terminals at Yanbu (Saudi Arabia)^[10](https://www.iea.org/commentaries/how-global-oil-supplies-have-readjusted-to-help-fill-the-huge-gap-left-by-the-strait-of-hormuz-shock)^[19](https://pgjonline.com/news/2026/february/mol-secures-tanker-crude-boosts-adriatic-pipeline-flows-as-druzhba-outage-persists) |

Pipelines are natural monopolies: building a second line next to the first rarely makes sense, so tolls are regulated. In the US, FERC adjusts the toll ceilings of most interstate oil lines every year using a cost index. Shippers usually commit to long contracts before construction; Trans Mountain's interim benchmark toll was set for 15-year contracts, and in 2026 the regulator let it contract 90% of capacity rather than 80%. Those contracts make the debt financeable.

The sources consulted did not give a reliable world ranking of line-pipe makers or pipeline builders. The firms named here are tied to the specific assets described in the sources, not ranked by market share.

#### Sources

1. [Annual Report Mileage for Hazardous Liquid or Carbon Dioxide Systems](https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics/pipeline/annual-report-mileage-hazardous-liquid-or-carbon-dioxide-systems) US DOT PHMSA, 2026
2. [DOT's Federal Pipeline Safety Program: Background and Issues for Congress (R44201)](https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2025-05-07_R44201_0c6a72e5a4eab76953162d263010f08eee1dcc67.html) Congressional Research Service, 2025
3. [FERC adopts PPI-FG minus 0.55% oil pipeline index for 2026-2031](https://www.velaw.com/insights/ferc-adopts-ppi-fg-minus-0-55-oil-pipeline-index-for-2026-2031/) Vinson & Elkins, 2026
4. [CER sets interim tolls for the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline system](https://cer-rec.gc.ca/en/about/news-room/news-releases/2023/cer-sets-interim-tolls-for-expanded-trans-mountain-pipeline-system.html) Canada Energy Regulator, 2023
5. [How global oil supplies have readjusted to help fill the huge gap left by the Strait of Hormuz shock](https://www.iea.org/commentaries/how-global-oil-supplies-have-readjusted-to-help-fill-the-huge-gap-left-by-the-strait-of-hormuz-shock) IEA, 2026
6. [Saudi Arabia restores key pipeline to half its capacity (Bloomberg)](https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/saudi_arabia_restores_key_pipeline_to_half_its_capacity-28-sep-2026-184718-article/) Rigzone, 2026
7. [West Coast Oil Pipeline: project of national interest](https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/major-projects-office/projects/national/west.html) Government of Canada, Major Projects Office, 2026
8. [MOL secures tanker crude, boosts Adriatic pipeline flows as Druzhba outage persists (Reuters)](https://pgjonline.com/news/2026/february/mol-secures-tanker-crude-boosts-adriatic-pipeline-flows-as-druzhba-outage-persists) Pipeline and Gas Journal, 2026

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/correlation/index.md)
- [How it works](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/explain/index.md)
- [Efficiency and losses](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/efficiency/index.md)
- [Technology advances](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/advances/index.md)
- [Geopolitics and regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/geopolitics/index.md)
- [Unit economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/economics/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/biosphere/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_pipelines/links/index.md)