Economic analysis of crude oil pipelines applied to Caspian options. Transportation costs for moving crude oil through long-distance (1,000 km and more) pipelines vary under such influences as throughput, pipe diameter, energy-unit rate, utilization factor, and amortization. But if one assumes oil will be extracted and refined for the foreseeable future, two new studies offer insight into the economics, health impacts and risks of pipelines versus crude oil by rail, or CBR. Transporting oil by rail is often viewed as a stopgap measure until more pipelines are built. The U.S. Pipeline Industry Is Booming. Every once in a while, a new technological development shakes up a conservative sector. In the oil and gas industry, the shale revolution has changed the business in multiple ways. The U.S. has been transformed from one of the world’s leading oil importers into the world’s largest producer of oil and gas.