Update On "Port Of North Dakota" -- December 12, 2017

The last time I blogged about ND Port Services it was about the port being in default in lease payments. A short update from The Minot Daily News in this story:

• the city has been seeking lease payments from NDPS that it states are overdue. In court documents, NDPS alleges the city breached the lease by failing to maintain the property. First Western Bank filed foreclosure against NDPS in May for delinquent loan payments. That legal debate continues in North Central District Court. 

Bur now there appears to be new interest in the port:

• NDPS currently operates with three tracks of about 4,500 feet. Limitations with those tracks preclude handling more than a few cars at a time. NDPS would like to construct four rails of 9,500 feet to enable the port to serve more cars and create a more viable operation.

Because of the way the story is written, it's a bit hard to follow but this is what it sounds like to me:

• the Port had a projected $130 million investment fall through in 2013; focused on Bakken energy; investor got "cold feet" -- worried how long the boom would last
• the Port was unable to maintain lease payments to the city of Minot
• the Port now has an investor group interested in investing $80 million the project
• but to do that, the Port needs to add rail on land that the city of Minot owns
• the Port focused on Bakken oil back in 2013; now it pivots to agriculture, wants to become a distribution and logistics center for a core hub between Chicago and Seattle

Background:

• development of the Port began in 2005
• NDPS was established in 2007 (still commonly called the Port of North Dakota)
• transloading activity began in 2010

To put this in perspective, compare with Red River Oilfield Service, on the east side of Williston, ND -- built privately by a single individual. When I was last there, the rail yard had around eleven rail spurs; I don't know the exact length of each spur, but at least one had been completed as part of the "Unit Train Project" -- unit trains are colloquially said to be a "mile long."

Comments: this is incredibly good news for the Port, the city of Minot, and, the entire region. It certainly suggests the "Bakken economy" continues to hum along.

CBR Ending For US East Coast Refiners -- April 21, 2017

DAPL is flowing.

Largest refiner on US east coast will no longer take rail deliveries of Bakken oil.

Good, bad, or indifferent with regard to one's thoughts about pipelines, think about  it: 425,000 bopd that used to be by rail through Minneapolis, Chicago, etc., will no longer go through those cities. 

Reuters story with data points:

• largest refiner on US east coast: Philadelphia Energy Solutions Inc
• at its peak, took three miles' worth of trains filled with Bakken oil each day
• just five rail deliveries in May; no rail deliveries in June 
• recently getting one unit train per day; one unit train: 75,000 bopd
• rail volumes in the Bakken peaked at 420,000 bopd
• DAPL begins interstate crude oil delivery May 14, 2017
• 1,172-miles long
• western North Dakota to Patoka, IL
• 450,000 bopd
• will connect to large refineries in the Nederland and Port Arthur, TX, area

Bakken Crude Oil Receiving Terminal Proposed For Washington State -- Expand An Existing Facilty -- November 26, 2016

From OregonLive: company wants to expand existing methanol facility in Washington State to receive up to almost 18 million bbls/year; data points:

• terminal in small city of Hoquiam, Washington
• existing methanol facility
• operated by Contanda (this is new name; originally: Westway Terminal)
• 17.8 million bbls oil/year
• storage: up to 1 million bbls of crude oil
• Bakken oil or diluted bitumen from Alberta
• from Hoquiam, would be transferred to ocean-going tankers/barges to refineries in the Puget Sound area or California
• local groups oppose
• permit originally issued in 2013
• appeal: permit rescinded
• process began again in 2014

Hope springs eternal.

A typical unit train carries around 85,000 bbls of crude oil. Eighteen million bbls / 85,000 bbls = 210 unit trains, or close to one unit train daily, Monday through Friday.

Huge thanks to a reader for sending me the link. I would have missed it. 

Congratulations To Red River Oilfield Services -- Unit Train Project Completed Ahead Of Schedule -- March 18, 2016

This is really a huge story; I had a tour of the operation when I up in the Bakken a month ago (February).

The Williston Wire is reporting:

Red River Oilfield Services, Inc. of Williston has completed its Unit Train Project at the Stony Creek Rail Yard. Unseasonably warm weather benefited the project.

Patrick Construction of Havre, Montana, completed the project just in time for the Red River Switching Crews to stage up the departing empty Unit Train U-WILEOL0-02 scheduled for return to Illinois on Tuesday March 15, 2016. Partner Class 1 Railroad, the BNSF Railway, provided support along the way for this project.

Red River has been in business for 37 years in Williston.

I track CBR terminals in the Bakken here. 

Look West! The Saga Continues -- January 3, 2016; Note How The Anti-Oil Faction Writes This Story

The Olympian reports that Union Pacific could ship one million gallons (yup, gallons) of Bakken crude each week:

Trains operating on Union Pacific Railroad lines through Lewis and Thurston counties could be carrying 1 million gallons of Bakken crude oil weekly, according to a notification issued in early December and highlighted by Lewis County Emergency Management last week.

The rail line previously didn’t report transporting that much oil per train.

Thurston/Lewis county are in western Washington state with Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia in the area. Lewis County is south of Thurston County, sort of in between Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia (to the north) and Portland (to the south).

I track the "Look West!" series here.

Again, this is an interesting way for an anti-oil newspaper to post the numbers. NO ONE measures the amount of oil being transported by rail (CBR) in gallons. In barrels, one million gallons = 24,000 bbls -- a pittance in the big scheme of things. The Bakken produces 1 million bbls//day.

A typical unit train has 118 the tank cars. Each tank car holds about 714 bbls --> 85,000 bbls/unit train. If that is accurate, it won't even take a unit train to transport 24,000 bbls. Maybe 30 tank cars. The Olympians won't even notice them.

And the article continues:

Union Pacific lines expect no more than one train per week carrying 1 million gallons of oil or more to pass through Lewis and Thurston counties. Most trains are enroute to the Portland-Vancouver area.

Union Pacific issued a notification in June 2014, stating the company did not transport enough Bakken crude oil to meet the threshold at that time.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe’s last notification was released in September, stating it was transporting an estimated 10 to 18 trains carrying 1 million gallons or more of Bakken oil through Thurston and Lewis counties.

Hardly worth noting except .... the "Look West!" saga continues.

A DOT-111 tank car carries upwards of 35,000 gallons (830 bbls). One million gallons / 30,000 gallons = 33 tank cars.

Wandering Star, Lee Marvin

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article52662135.html#storylink=cp

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article52662135.html

Plenty of Money For Presidential Golf Outings; Not Enough Money for White House Tours; Not Enough Money For Easter Egg Roll; Still Unable to Fully Access NDIC Web Site; Parts Of It Seem To Be Coming Back Up, Albeit Very Slow; Was It A DOS Attack By The Chinese?

Updates

March 19, 2013: I can't make this stuff up. The White House can't afford White House tours any more, but not only can the White House afford presidential golf outings here in the US, it now turns out that the president will be golfing in Ireland in June, 2013.  Ireland is one of the PIIGS, by the way. As you can see by the link the PIIGS even have their own wikipage. Once you have your own wikipage, you are too big to fail. With Cyprus, C-PIIGS?

Original Post

Easter egg roll story here.

With regard to the NDIC web site: today's daily activity report has not yet been posted.

Cannot access Basic Services.

Later:  

I was unaware that there was even a golf story out there, but here it is. I assume the media will start adding up the cost of the golf trips vs the weekly cost of White House tours.

I can't make this stuff up.

While we're waiting for NDIC to be back up and running:

Bakken Oil Unit Train