Energy Transportation Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

Hurricane Harvey Aftermath: Where Are Oil Refineries?

The destructive force of Hurricane Harvey has shut down the largest oil refinery in the United States, the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. And, as of August 30, 18 refineries have been closed or partially closed according to Business Insider.

Oil Change International publishes an online map showing the locations of oil refineries in the United States and Canada.  The site rates the refineries by color according to the amount of tar sands crude oil processed:  Red refineries receive significant quantities of tar sands crude (greater than 5,000 barrels per day); orange refineries receive smaller amounts of tar sands crude; yellow refineries process negligible amounts of tar sands crude; and gray refineries do not process tar sands crude.

The Ball State University Libraries GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) has a large collection of United States depository maps related to energy production and transportation.  Maps in the collection identify pipeline transportation systems, crude oil movement by pipeline, nuclear fuel materials movement by highways, and commodity movement maps.

The GRMC provided energy-related maps for a special collection available from the Libraries’ Digital Media Repository.  The collection, United States Commodities Maps, includes maps of waterways, energy resources and production, and the location of oil and gas pipelines (above—click to enlarge).  The maps are available for download for research and learning projects.

For more information about using cartographic resources related to energy, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.