Remington Plewe

Pipeline Project
The following is a mathematical evaluation regarding the installation of a proposed
natural gas pipeline near Vernal, Utah. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate each route the
pipeline could theoretically take and to assess the financial impact of each route.

16 miles

8 miles

BLM land

Private Land

40 miles

(A simplified representation of the area in question)

Option A)
Running the pipeline strictly on BLM land with two different cases:
i) Running west, then south, then east t the refinery.

16 miles

8 miles

BLM land

Private Land

40 miles

Option Ai) (cont.)

This option would total 64 miles of pipe construction on BLM land. At $480,000/mile
the total would be $30,720,000.
40 mi + 16 mi + 8 mi = 64 mi
64 mi x $480,000/mi = $30,720,00
ii) Heading east through the mountain and then south to the refinery.

16 miles

8 miles

BLM land

Private Land

40 miles

Drilling through the mountain would cost a flat rate of $4,500,000 but an environmental study and an 8 month delay would cost an additional $1,400,000 totaling $5,900,000. Add
that to the normal rate of laying 48 miles of pipe at $480,000/mile, this route would total
$28,940,000.
cost of drilling, environmental study and delay:
$5,900,000
Normal cost of laying 48 miles of pipe:
32 mi + 16 mi = 48 mi
48 mi x $480,000/mi = $23,040,000
Total cost:
$5,900,000 + $23,040,000 = $28,940,000

Option B)
i) The shortest distance across the private ground to the refinery.

16 miles

8 miles

BLM land
c
a

Private Land

40 miles b

Taking the shortest distance from the well to refinery would allow us to use the least
amount of pipe possible, but laying pipe on private land incurs a hefty right-of-way fee of an
additional $360,000/mi totaling $840,000/mi of pipe laid.
By using the Pythagorean theorem, we can solve for this distance.
Distance b = 40 - 8 = 32 miles
Distance a = 16 miles
Distance c = 162 + 322 = c2
1280 = c2
c=
mi
mi x $840,000/mi = $30,052753.62

Option B) (cont.)
ii) Straight south across the private property then straight east towards the refinery.

16 miles

8 miles

BLM land

Private Land

40 miles

Straight south would be 16 miles worth of pipe at $840,000/mi (right-of-way fee

included) followed by 32 miles of pipe laid at the normal rate of $480,000/mi on BLM land.
There are 48 total miles.
Normal cost of laying 32 miles of pipe:
32 mi x $480,000 = $15,360,000
Premium cost of laying pipe on private land:
16 mi x $840,000 = $13,440,000
Total cost:
$15,360,000 + $13,440,000 = $28,800,000

Option C)
This option would optimize our distance across the private land in the south east
direction with the remainder of the pipeline heading due east on BLM land.

16 miles

8 miles

BLM land

16

Private Land
32 - x

40mi - 8mi = 32 mi

40 miles
In preparation to optimize the distance traveled across the private land, we must label
the dimensions properly. An unknown distance is labeled x thus making the remaining
distance to the refinery, 32-x. Through use of the pythagorean theorem, we find that the
hypotenuse of the plotted right triangle would equal
.
162 + x2 = y2
256 + x2 = y2
Square root both sides and you are left with:
=y
The optimal cost of the pipeline will be expressed as follows:
C = 840,000(

) + 480,000(32-x)

By finding the derivative of the optimal cost function and setting it equal to zero, we
find the point at which the function hits a local minimum value. This would be representative
of how far our x value should be from 0 and where directing the pipeline would be most
cost effective. To find the derivative one must perform the following.
Recall our optimal cost function:
C = 840,000(

) + 480,000(32-x)

Take the derivative:

C = 840,000(

) + 480,000(-

= 840,000(

(x) + 0)

)-480,000(

(x))

=840,000(

)-1(480,000)

=840,000(

)(2x)-480,000

-480,000

-480,000

Set the derivative equal to 0:

-480,000 = 0
840,000x = 480,000 (

(840,000x)2 = (480,000)2(256 + x2)

705,600,000,000x2 = 230,400,000,000x2 + 58,982,400,000,000
475,200,000,000x2 = 58,982,400,000,000
x2 = 124.121212
x=

11.140969

-11.140969 is not within our given domain so it can be disregarded.

x = 11.140969
This is the x value at which our slope is zero on the graph of our optimal cost function.
It represents a minimum value where the cost is the cheapest. It is also the x value
represented in the triangle in the diagram of this particular pipeline layout.

With these values now accounted for, our diagram is more complete.

16 miles

8 miles

BLM land

19.49669 mi

16

Private Land
x=11.1409

20.8591 mi

40 miles

To find ,we simply refer to the values we just found. By using the tangent, we can
utilize our new x value with the given 16 value as the opposite and adjacent values. Find by
taking the arctan of 11.1409/16 as follows:
arctan =
= 34.8499

A graph of this optimal cost function would look like this:

(0 , 28,800,000)

The domain of our function would be from 0 to 32. At x=0 we get 28,800,00 which is
representative of the pipeline not going at any angle towards the refinery. We can see from
the graph that x=0 yields a higher cost. This would be cohesive with our data found in option
B-ii. We can also use this optimal cost function and solve for 0 mathematically.
C(0)=840,000(
) + 480,000(32-0)
=13,440,000 + 15,360,000
=$28,800,000

At x=32, we get 30,052,753.62. This is cohesive with our data that represents a straight
diagonal line crossing directly from the well to the refinery. We can mathematically represent
this data as follows:
C(32)=840,000(
) + 480,000(32-32)
=840,000(
)+0
=$30,052,753.62

(32 , 30,052,753.62)

When we plug in our minimum x value, we will get our optimal, lowest price.
C(11.140969)=840,000(

) + 480,000(32-11.140969)

= 16,377225.87 + 10,012,334.41
=$26,389,560.28

(11.140969 , 26,389,560.28)

Conclusion
In this semesters class, we have learned many skills that will apply to the professional
field. The most prominate of the applications are in limits, derivatives and integrals. Using
calculus we can understand the behavior and rates at which values change. We can graph a
function, analyze it and even predict its future path. It takes a specific field to use Calculus and
I would argue that most people in the world get by without a firm knowedge of the material
in their day to day activities but if it werent for those who promtly apply the rules of calculus,
such as thoses in physics, chemistry, engineering, statistics, and medicine to name a few, we
would certainly be at a significant disadvantage.
I am going into product design and at first, it is difficult for me to think of instances in
which I will use Calculus but it is very likely that I will also be on the business end of product
design where I will predict future numbers and projections for upcoming products. Similar to
this project, I could compute data that would allow me to predict maximum profit in a specific
setting.
It will likely be applicable when building prototypes as well, allowing me to optimize
the amount of material I would potentially need for a project or model.