A rail terminal outside of Philadelphia has begun taking deliveries of Bakken crude after going dormant for nearly three years, according to shipping data and a source familiar with operations, as refiners snatch up discounted North American crude barrels.
The 90,000 barrel-per-day-rail terminal in Eddystone, Pennsylvania, has been getting routine deliveries of Bakken crude for the past month, the first significant deliveries since the site went dark in January 2016. Monroe Energy, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc, is using the terminal to help supply its 185,000 bpd refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania.
The return of crude deliveries at Eddystone highlights the growing pains confronting U.S. producers who are facing bottlenecks as booming production outpaces pipeline growth. It also shows how U.S. refiners are trying to seize on the bottlenecks, doing whatever they can to access the distressed crude.I actually find it interesting that there is so much talk about all the pipeline constraints when, in fact, it seems more oil than ever is being produced and shipped by pipeline.
On another note, I alluded to the story a few weeks (?) ago on the blog when it was reported that the Iowa Supreme Court could shut down the DAPL. If the DAPL is shut down, CBR will come back nicely and CBR is so much ore flexible than a pipeline. At $80 and higher, the differential in shipping costs between CBR and pipeline become less problematic. With less takeaway capacity, North Dakota might not be able to maximize crude oil production, but it will do just fine.
And when Californians complain about $5 gasoline .... well, whatever.
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