From the publisher:
Inspired by ancient stone-passing games like Mancala, Pipeline is a game of strategy and negotiation. Players choose from five evil megacorporations to rule over twenty comically named oil-bearing countries (Suxembourg, Liceland, Petropolis). All the corporations share a common oil trading route ("the pipeline") that runs through the countries, so the trick is to put as little good product into the pipeline while pulling out as much refined material as possible. Players export product, collect dividends and pillage to collect oil tokens which have negative and positive values. Once a corporation goes bankrupt, the game ends, and the player with the most valuable oil hoard wins. Optional rules adjust the length and style of the game from short and cutthroat to long and sneaky.