Jacob Howard

14 April 2016

Pipeline Project

The following is the proposed optimal cost and placement of pipeline spanning from the
natural gas well to the refinery. Included are all the different possibilities and reasoning why
those possibilities are not effective.

1. The cost for running pipe strictly on BLM ground:

o 65 miles at $500,000 per mile amounts to $32,500,000

15 miles

BLM Ground

5 miles

BLM Ground

Private Ground

45 miles - BLM Ground

2. The cost for running pipe East through the mountain and South to the refinery:
o Flat rate to drill through the mountain: $3,500,000
o Normal cost of $500,000 per mile for 55 miles: $27,500,000
o Payment for a 6-month environmental impact study: $420,000
o The study will delay progress and cost the company another $180,000 per month:
$1,080,000
Total: $32,500,000

BLM Ground

Private Ground

15 miles

BLM Ground

5 miles

45 miles - BLM Ground

3. The cost of running pipe in the shortest distance to the refinery, on private ground.
o Normal cost of $500,000 per mile for 42.72 miles: $21,360,000
o Right-of-way fee of $350,000 per mile for 42.72 miles: $14,952,000
Total: $36,312,000

BLM Ground

15 miles

BLM Ground

5 miles

42.72 miles

45 miles - BLM Ground

CONCLUSION:
o The most effective way to run natural gas to our refinery is to angle the pipe 36
degrees South to East.
o Lay pipe for 18.55 miles on private land.
o Lay pipe for 29.09 miles from the time we touch BLM land to the refinery.
ESTIMATED COST:
$30,312,500

36 degrees

15 miles

18.55 miles

10.9 miles

We know that 10.9 miles requires the minimum amount of money and distance of pipe laid by
plugging 10.9 into the first derivative test:
C(10.9) = (850,000*10.9)/(sqrt(10.9^2 + 225) 500,000
C(10.9) = -326.67
Since we get a negative value, we know that 10.9 is the minimum of our cost function.

Reflection
I have struggled to understand Calculus this semester, but I love the ability it gives me to
solve real-world problems. I heard someone at the school this semester say: College Algebra
should be the highest math that we ever need. But without Calculus, our world wouldnt be the
same.
I enjoyed the optimization applications I learned this semester. I can now use Calculus to
find the minimum amount of materials required to build a box with the largest possible volume or
surface area. I remember getting biscuits and gravy at a gas station occasionally in high school,
and the biscuits were always covered in an excess of gravy. After taking Calculus, I would
estimate the surface area of the biscuits to find a standard amount of gravy required to cover
them sufficiently, and make a larger profit than that gas station did. This may be a cheesy
example, but it makes me excited to find new ways to apply Calculus.

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