Atmospheric CO2; Chinese Coal; And All That Soot -- February 10, 2021

January, 2021:

January, 2020:

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Could This Be The Problem?

China? From a reader:

The engineering marvel that is the recently opened Haoji rail line is, mysteriously, not getting much public attention. 

At near $30 billion cost, this >1,000 mile long railway carries about 200 million tonnes per year of coal to Chinese power plants. 

That is sufficient to fuel 60 massive 1,000 Megawatt coal plants.

Each. Year.

Several of these Inner Mongolian coal mines are amongst the biggest open pit mines in the world.

From wiki:

[The 1,127-mile railway] was built to facilitate coal transport from Inner Mongolia and Shanxi to China's southern provinces at up to 200 million tons a year. 

The railway is also the first north-south railway in China that is dedicated to coal, and is built to bypass existing coal transport routes that go via coastal cities by ship. 

The line will reduce transit time from 20 days by sea to just 3 days. 

The line connects to existing railways at several points to share maintenance facilities. The design speed of the railway is 75 mph. 

The line was approved in 2014 at a cost of US$27.2 billion, financed by China Railway and several large domestic coal mining companies. The railway was inaugurated on 28 September 2019.

Coal Is Back! -- Reuters -- August 28, 2017

Note: one can't buy shares of Burlington Northern any more but there are other regional rail monopolies still publicly traded. Just saying.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, travel, job, or relationship decisions based on anything you read here or think you may have read here

Rail news: from Reuters -- thousands of rail workers return to work as Buffett's BNSF's volumes rise.

BNSF Railway Co has called back roughly 4,000 of the 5,000 workers who were furloughed across its system last year, reflecting stronger volumes of coal, grain and intermodal containers and trailers.

Like other major U.S. railroads, the company owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc has shed thousands of union and management jobs in recent years as it strives to improve efficiency and cut costs.

BNSF, the top U.S. coal carrier, laid off roughly 5,000 employees from mid-2015 to early 2016. The Texas-based company and its peers faced cost pressures from plunging coal volumes as the strong U.S. dollar hurt exports of the fuel and utilities switched to burning cheaper natural gas.

BNSF brought back roughly 4,000 of those workers as coal volumes rose this year, along with high levels of grain and upticks in intermodal containers and trailers, and sand used in hydraulic fracturing.

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Doing Homework Together

I was unaware that Sophia (3 years old) had any homework -- LOL --but whatever it was, it appears that she is doing well -- note the smiling face on her "desktop."

Additional Links In Wake Of The Slump In Oil Prices -- January 7, 2015

Slump in oil prices probably doesn't necessarily mean grain farmers will have better access to wheat-carrying unit trains. The Bakken.com is reporting.

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A second link, Bloomberg is reporting:

The U.S. exported a record amount of crude oil in November after a five-year run of production growth that has made the country the most oil-independent in 20 years.
Shipments surged 34 percent to average 502,000 barrels a day in November, the most on record dating back to 1920, data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Energy Information Administration show. The previous peak was 455,000 in March 1957. The U.S. is now the 17th-largest exporter. 

I have to really chuckle. When I first started blogging in 2007/2009 (and deleted the original blog in a moment of insanity) I suggested US oil exports would surge. I did not know there was a ban. A reader wrote to tell me. I checked the law and wrote that the exceptions were large enough to drive a 100-unit oil train through. More of the story:

About 218,000 barrels a day left from northern places like Detroit, upstate New York and Maine. Another 174,000 exited via Texas ports like Houston and Corpus Christi. About 70,000 went through Montana and North Dakota, and 38,000 out of New Orleans.

The U.S. bans most exports of unrefined crude oil. Shipments to Canadian refiners are allowed, as are re-exports of foreign oil, and a few other small exceptions. Congress will discuss repealing the ban in 2015, Representative Ed Whitfield, a Kentucky Republican and chairman of the House Energy and Power Subcommittee, said at a Dec. 11 hearing in Washington.

For now, the existing exceptions are helping producers find higher-value markets for U.S. crude. The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate was $2.50 a barrel less than than international Brent yesterday, from a $13.44 discount a year ago. 

This is a very interesting story. I talked to a CEO of an oil company located in Texas and he said something I never gave any thought to: all oil produced is sold.

Unlike Christmas wrapping that goes on sale after the holidays, and then a lot of it never sold and just thrown away, produced oil is not dumped in the ocean. It ends up going somewhere. The Bloomberg suggests exactly that. Very, very interesting. There's more than just Cushing, Pennsylvania refineries, etc., for Bakken oil. Very, very interesting. 

Much, much more at the linked story.

CBR And Other Rail-Related Stories -- September 25, 2014; Don't Whine For Me, Mr Bakken

Updates

September 27, 2014: another story to add to the list of those whining about CBR but not demanding more pipeline. The Dickinson Press is reporting:

Runaway oil production could slow road traffic as drivers face longer delays to cross train tracks in many congested regions, a U.S. study released on Friday predicted.

Oil, coal and grain shipments are taxing the national rail grid as the deliveries of those commodities are expected to climb along with commercial shipments in the coming years, according to the report from the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress.

Freight movements on the tracks are due to rise 51 percent over 2007 levels by 2040, according to the Transportation Department, and so exceed 28 billion tons per year.
One factor is oil train deliveries out of North Dakota’s energy patch that neared 250,000 carloads in 2012 compared with roughly 10,000 in 2007, according to the study.

The increased oil shipments will translate into tie-ups at highway-rail crossings, though the study said it was hard to judge what areas of the country would be most affected.

As soon as I saw "runaway" -- which, by the way, was the first word in the story -- I knew it would be another "whining" story. Note also the dateline of the story (Washington, DC): this was no doubt sent out by some "advocacy group" disguising the "press release" as a story.

"... it was hard to judge what areas of the country would be most affected." Well, one could start with the northern tier, Minnesota to Washington State, and then go from there. I can't make this stuff up.

Original Post

Marketplace is reporting:

The electric utility that serves the Duluth region is mothballing four coal-powered generators, and not because the Environmental Protection Agency told it to.

No, Minnesota Power is idling these generators for three months because the railroad isn’t delivering enough coal. Railroads are crazy busy— carrying oil from North Dakota for one thing— and the delays are driving their customers nuts. 

Al Rudeck is the vice president of strategy and planning for Minnesota Power. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad has delivered the utility’s coal for decades. I asked him: Has this kind of thing happened before?

"This is unprecedented," he said. "We’ve never had to shut our units off because we can’t get the coal we need. This year they’ve had a lot of challenges on the rail system, in terms of congestion, weather, and a lot of business."

Railroads have also had a lot of unhappy customers.

Farmers can’t get a bumper crop to market.

On some days, according to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, car-makers have had as many as 200,000 vehicles sitting outside factories, waiting to be picked up by trains. 

That's interesting about the auto-makers. I posted that same prediction some time ago; this is the first time I've seen the "predication" "validated." Don't whine for me:

Don't Cry For Me, Argentina; Evita, Madonna
Don't cry for me, Minnesota. The Minnesota and Iowa farmers have pretty much decided they prefer CBR instead of crude oil pipelines. The Dickinson Press is reporting the Minnesota PUC took the unusual step to further complicate any movement on this issue:

An official of the union representing workers who hope to help build an oil pipeline through northern Minnesota is raising alarms over regulatory delays.

David Barnett, a special representative to the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe-Fitting Industry, said Wednesday a recent decision by a Minnesota regulatory board to look into alternate routes could put Enbridge’s Sandpiper pipeline in jeopardy.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission voted earlier this month to study the environmental implications of six system alternatives for the pipeline, which would carry Bakken crude oil from western North Dakota to Clearbrook, MN, and then Superior, WI.

“We want it to be the best environmental route for the state of Minnesota,” Barnett said.

“But we don’t think that this course of action is geared at finding the best environmental route.”

The PUC also separated the Certificate of Need application from the route-permitting process, which are typically considered jointly.

Enbridge spokeswoman Lorraine Little stopped short of saying the $2.6 billion project was at risk, but said the company expects it to be delayed.

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A contributor to another board had some positive news with regard to BNSF efforts to relieve the logjam and shortage of coal reaching those Minnesota power plants:

Deliveries will be increasing shortly in my opinion.  I live along the Burlington Northern southern mainline in Montana and ride my bicycle along a couple hundred miles of their routes. 

BNSF started new sidings in 4 locations between Fallon, MT, and Forsyth, MT (80 highway miles), and have completed 3 for sure now.  

In addition, BNSF has installed new routing gear at Terry, MT, to remotely switch trains at 40 mph from the west to either: a) the old Milwaukee tracks heading east through southern North Dakota; or, b) northeast into northwest North Dakota and the Bakken-Three Forks shale developments.

There were large numbers of brand new Cat/Deere excavators, scrapers, etc at each of those sites.  

Then last week end I took the Amtrak train east from Wolf Point, MT, to Minot, ND.  In one spot I saw 2 brand new Cat backhoes -- I no longer know the numbers but they would have been about 225's when I used them a lot and 5 comparable Deere backhoes -- not a scratch on them.  

The Amtrak schedule has been lengthened to give more time to get through the construction areas plus Amtrak warns of up to 6 hour delays.  My train managed to make up enough time for the extended schedule coming in less than an hour late each way.  

From Williston east, there is now double track most of the way.   And Amtrak is rerouted away from Rugby and Grand Forks as those tracks are in the process of being upgraded -- I suspect those would go into Duluth.  

Last year the mines in Colstrip on the southern route were not even willing to price low enough to get any business.  The tracks which carried coal north from Colstrip mines to Forsyth and the main BNSF track sat idle with excess coal cars piled up on that single line.  Trainloads of coal did come through Forsyth, Miles City, Terry, but not as many as we are used to.   

I strongly suspect BNSF will be capable of carrying at least twice the freight on the two routes which was carried in past years in just a few more weeks.  

We don't see nearly as much oil going west as coal going east, but with longer sidings, they should be able to move trains much more effectively.   

Capitalism works wonders--it just takes a bit of time.

Update On The Propane Terminal At Hannaford, ND -- September 19, 2014; BNSF Wants To Resolve ChokePoint In Idaho

TwinCitiesPioneerPress is reporting:

Officials see a new propane terminal at Hannaford as a way to combat the shortages and high prices seen last year. The $6.5 million terminal is a project of CHS and Central Plains Ag Services and will bring propane from the Oil Patch to users in eastern North Dakota.

The terminal will operate under the CHS propane terminal name.

Previously, most propane marketed in eastern North Dakota was delivered by the Cochin Pipeline from Canada, Kumm said.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, owners of the Cochin Pipeline, reversed the flow of the pipeline to deliver refined products from Illinois to Canada. This led to shortages and high prices last fall and winter, according to Ken Astrup, general manager of Dakota Plains Cooperative in Valley City.

The Hannaford terminal will take delivery of propane by rail, Kumm said. The bulk of the propane will come from a CHS-owned loading facility at Ross, and originates from the Bakken oilfields. CHS also has suppliers in Canada for diversity in case the supply from the Bakken is interrupted.

I didn't see the article say it specifically, but perhaps the terminal is operational; the story back in April suggested it would be up and running in time for the 2014 harvest. 

Again, another "thank you" to a reader for sending me the link. The same reader sent the following story.

The Bismarck Tribune is reporting:

Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad wants to build a second bridge in northern Idaho to handle an expected increase in traffic that includes coal and oil trains.

The one bridge now at Sandpoint handles about one train every half-hour, a bottleneck for BNSF's busy Hi-Line that connects the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest.

Montana Rail Link trains also use the single-track bridge that crosses Lake Pend Oreille where it meets the Pend Oreille River.

"It's known by rail fans as the funnel," BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said. "And it's a choke point."

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Antarctic Sea Ice Extent Sets All-Time Record

Off the Bremen chart. 

If I recall correctly, the warmists now tell us that the extent of sea ice (Antarctic, Arctic, or otherwise) no longer correlates with global warming but "to be honest with you" (would I ever not be honest with you?), I think one can find almost any theory or any explanation or any temperature or almost anything one wants to hear about global warming. The only thing I pretty much know for sure: the Statue of Liberty won't disappear underwater due to global warming as the National Geographic suggests.

Perhaps it's time to pull out the 1976 HAB theory. 

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Renewable Energy Department At Risk?

Politico is reporting:

The New York Times leadership is currently considering a new round of buyout offers that is likely to slash at least 50 positions from the company, and possibly several more, sources at the paper told POLITICO this week.

The official plan is being hammered out at this week's Times Company board meeting on the West Coast, the sources said. Executive editor Dean Baquet, who is attending the meeting, is expected to make an announcement as early as this afternoon or next week. The buyouts are likely to affect both the newsroom and the business side.

The impending buyouts come amid significant personnel growth on the Times digital side, as well as in its video department. The Times has launched several ambitious new digital and mobile projects in recent months and is expected to launch more in the weeks ahead.

Minor Point For The Archives: BNSF Requires Coal Shippers To Suppress Coal Dust

The Billings Gazette is reporting:

The federal Surface Transportation Board has decided that BNSF Railway can require coal shippers to use certain methods to reduce the amount of coal dust lost from rail cars leaving coal mines in Wyoming and Montana.

In a decision last Wednesday, the board said shippers challenging the railway's coal-loading rules had not shown the measures were unreasonable. It did, however, find one provision related to liability unreasonable.

BNSF spokeswoman Courtney Wallace said Tuesday the board's decision ensures coal dust stays in railcars where it belongs.

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Speaking of coal, and killing the coal industry....

Business Insider is reporting that President Obama has worse polling numbers since Richard Nixon. 

President Barack Obama is ending his fifth year in office with the lowest approval ratings at this point in the presidency since President Richard Nixon, according to a new Washington Post/ABC poll released Tuesday.

Obama's approval rating in the poll stands at 43%. By comparison, President George W. Bush had a 47% approval rating at the end of the fifth year of his presidency. And all other Post-World War II presidents had approval ratings above 50% — with the exception of Nixon, who, amid the Watergate scandal, had a dreadful 29% approval rating.

The brutal numbers underscore what has been something of a lost year for the President. His approval ratings have been plunging recently as a result of the botched implementation of the Affordable Care Act. In the Washington Post/ABC poll, only 34% approve of how Obama is handling his signature health law's implementation. 

34% is not a whole different than 29%, especially onsidering we're talking about the president mainstream media loves the most since JFK, this is really quite shocking. And then look at the outlet that provided the polling: Washington Post/ABC.