Every day, every night, year in, year out, the Rotterdam-Rijn Pijpleiding (Rotterdam Rhine Pipeline, RRP) transports crude oil and semi-finished products from Rotterdam Europoort to the Ruhr area in Germany. It does this silently, safely and invisibly, with no impact on its surroundings or the environment.

The public limited company Rotterdam Rijn Pijpleiding Maatschappij was founded in 1958 to transport crude oil from Rotterdam to refineries in western Germany. In response to the expected strong growth in the demand for fossil fuels at the end of the 1960s, it was decided to replace the 24″ pipeline from Rotterdam to Venlo by a 36″ pipeline.

RRP provides the optimal and reliable functioning of the available pipelines and infrastructure in order to guarantee the continuity to transport crude oil and oil products to our customers.

Safety has high priority for RRP. For example, this means no accidents with injury and no leaks. RRP has secured the implementation of its policy and compliance with laws and regulations through an integrated management and safety management system that meets the NEN3650 (Bevb) and NTA8620 (Bevi/BRZO) standards.

RRP’s pumps are electrically powered so its CO2 emissions are very limited. RRP has been using ‘green electricity’ since 1 January 2018, so transport is CO2 neutral.

Monitoring the pipeline is very important. RRP does this 24/7 from a central control room.

The system is operated and monitored using process computers and various sensors and cameras

Maintenance of the pipeline and systems is important to safeguard integrity, so regular inspections are carried out.

These include ‘in-line inspections’, which involve sending special equipment through the pipeline to determine its condition.