RIgzone Has Article On Increasing CBR; OGJ Also Has Story
Rigzone is reporting:
With U.S. crude oil producing at record amounts and outstripping
pipeline capacity, the country is relying heavily on railroads to move
new crude oil to refineries and storage centers, reported the U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA) Wednesday.
The total amount of crude oil and refined products being transported
by rail is close to 356,000 carloads during the first half of 2013, up
48 percent from the same period last year, according to Association of
American Railroads.
“U.S. weekly car loadings of crude oil and petroleum products
averaged nearly 13,700 rail tankers during the January to June 2013
period. With one rail carload holding about 700 barrels, the amount of
crude oil and petroleum products shipped by rail was equal to 1.37
million barrels per day during the first half of 2013, up from 927,000
barrels per day during the first six months of last year. Crude oil
accounted for about half of the 2013 daily volumes," reported AAR.
"Increases in rail transportation multifactor productivity can be
traced to technical progress, such as improved capital inputs and
technological changes in the form of improved methods of service
delivery. Improved technology for locomotives, freight cars, and track
and structures have increased reliability and reduced maintenance
needs," added the United States Department of Transportation.
A large portion of the produced crude oil is from North Dakota where
there is not enough pipeline capacity to move supplies, therefore
dependency on delivery of oil by rail is substantial. North Dakota
currently ranks as the second largest oil producing state after Texas,
reported EIA.
Oil & Gas Journal is reporting:
Increased shipment of crude oil by rail is making the US Department
of Transportation examine its tank car standards, and possibly could
result in a proposal for new requirements by the yearend, an American
Petroleum Institute official said.
Cindy Schild, API’s downstream operations senior manager for refining
and oil sands, said the effort was under way before a runaway train
carrying Bakken crude to a Canadian refinery derailed early on July 6 in
Lac Megantic, Que., resulting in fires and explosions that killed at
least 15 people and left another 60 people missing.
A spokesman for DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration confirmed that the agency is considering amendments to
current regulations that would enhance rail safety, including for the
DOT Specification 111 tank cars, and further clarify the regulations.
“This is a tragic incident, and we sympathize with all the losses
there. It’s important to learn from such events,” Schild said. “DOT is
evaluating new specifications for tank cars transporting combustibles
including crude oil, and we will be working with them on it.”
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