Mega-Loads No Longer Allowed On State Roads In Idaho -- This Chapter Closed -- January 31, 2017

This was a big story six years ago when COP and XOM obtained permits to transport massive pieces of oil refinery equipment to the Canadian tar sands.

No more.

Story over at PennEnergy.

Good, bad, or indifferent: oil companies now have clear-cut rules.

From the article, regarding State Highway 12:

The highway runs through the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest and along the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River and its tributary, the Lochsa River. Both rivers are protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.

The Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho Rivers United and the legal group Advocates for the West sued the U.S. Forest Service in 2013, saying the federal agency had a duty to regulate the giant shipments. In response, a federal judge ordered a halt to the megaloads while the lawsuit worked its way through the courts.

Meanwhile, declining oil prices reduced demand from companies seeking to use the highway for megaloads.

Justin Trudeau no doubt supports this.

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Management 101

How To Surround Yourself With Best People

From: Scott Adams.

The smartest person I know told me that the secret to business success does NOT necessarily involve hiring the right people. We just think it does. 

The real secret to success is firing the people that you discover to be the wrong fit until eventually you END UP with the right people. No one is psychic enough to do hiring right every time. Job applicants are good at misrepresenting themselves. But a good leader knows which employees to fire and does it quickly and humanely.

Trump fires well. We saw him fire campaign managers as needed to restaff for each phase of his campaign. Lewandowski was perfect for the scrappy first months. Manafort was the right campaign manager to get Trump through the nomination process. And Conway was the right pick as his closer.

Apparently Sally Yates was not the right fit. LOL.

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Word For The Day: Cuirassiers

The Private Lives of The Impressionists, Sue Roe, c. 2006

Cuirassiers: armed cavalry; armed, shielded (breastplate, sometimes a backplate); made "famous" during the Napoleonic wars (1870); pistols displaced the lance; and eventually, swords displaced the pistols, the latter becoming secondary to the former.  

Sophia's word/phrase for the day: flying horse.

FBI Seems To Be Interested In Anti-Keystone XL Activists -- National Post -- February 9, 2015

This is an incredibly interesting article sent to me by a reader.

A long time ago -- long-time readers might remember -- I posted several stories on mega-load protests (I even have a tag on megaloads).

The National Post is reporting that the FBI seems to be interested in anti-Keystone XL activists:

But activists say oilsands opposition appears to be the common thread among people being contacted [by the FBI]. Police have been in touch with people from different groups, who in some cases don’t agree on much, but one thing they share is mutual participation in the so-called megaload protests.

Those are the intermittent highway blockades set up the last few years to complicate the enormous, football-field-sized shipments of processing equipment up to the oilsands.

Yost said only two people from her group participated in that anti-oilsands action — and those are the people who’ve been contacted by the FBI. She has refused to co-operate.

The other person, Herb Goodwin, was visited at home by an FBI agent and a veteran detective from the local police force in Bellingham, Wash. He said the federal agent told him: “We’re here to ask whether you’ll answer some questions for us about Deep Green Resistance.”

That group, DGR, calls itself a radical environmental movement that believes the biggest problem with the planet is human civilization itself. It proposes a shift back from agriculture to a hunter-gatherer horticultural lifestyle.

I think it's pretty easy to see what the FBI is interested in, but I will keep my thoughts to myself.  I don't think it has anything to do with the Keystone XL per se.

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Not What It Seems

I had not seen the 2011 movie Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy until last night (DVD). Tonight I watched it again with the commentary "on." Wow, what an incredible movie. The final "montage" is ... I have no words to describe it. See also this review.

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La Mer , Julio Iglesias

Here Come The Mega-Loads Again -- September 8, 2014

The Dickinson Press is reporting:

CHS announced Friday that it is proceeding with construction of a $3 billion plant northeast of Jamestown that will turn natural gas from North Dakota’s oilfields into nitrogen fertilizer for the region’s farmers.

CHS engineer Bart Gill, project director for the plant near the Spiritwood Energy Park, said CHS wants to use as many U.S. manufacturers as possible for components needed for the plant, but some of the parts it needs will have to be imported from Europe. Several of the components are very large, including a 500-ton ammonia converter.

“That’s the largest single piece of equipment that we’ll have, but we have several pieces of what we call oversized-overweight equipment that we’re going to have to transport into the site,” Gill said. “They’ll be moved first on the ocean, probably over to the port of Duluth, then transported by roads and/or rail if we can get rail, but more likely by road now to the site.”

Activists and community organizers may want to start organizing now. 

By the way, some background:

The Haber-Bosch process raises the temperature of the chamber to 572 to 1,022 degrees and increases the air pressure to a range of 2,200 to 3,600 pounds per square inch. In comparison, the average psi at sea level on Earth is about 14.7 psi.

The chemical reaction in the chamber produces ammonia out of the nitrogen and hydrogen, and ammonia is the main ingredient in nitrogen fertilizers. The gases that don’t produce ammonia on the first pass are recycled again through the tank.

“(The ammonia) is further processed into urea and then the urea is further processed into UAN,” Schouvieller said.

UAN is a solution of urea and ammonium nitrate in water that becomes fertilizer. The ammonia also will be used to produce diesel exhaust fluid, used in cleaning diesel engines.

“(UAN) is a nitric acid, so basically they take the urea liquor and add water, and now you have a liquid that’s 28 percent nitrogen,” Schouvieller said. “It’s probably important to point out that ammonia is 82 percent nitrogen and urea is 34 percent.”

For Newbies: Look At All These "High-IP" Wells Being Reported Across The Bakken -- September 4, 2014; "The" Restaurant In Williston

Link here to see several good wells reporting today.

Also, Shell's discovery in the Utica (Pennsylvania) is getting a lot of play. New Yorkers must be going nuts.

I got a late start this morning. I stayed up late last night watching the new vampire movie (2nd time in three days to watch it; will watch it again tonight).

Fairfield SunTimes with photo and story on mega-load in the Bowman, ND, area -- and guess what -- no protestors.

For investors -- this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment decisions based on what you read here or what you think you may have read here.

The market surprised me (again) this morning. Pulled back a bit but there are still going to be a lot of companies trading at new highs. I don't think there's any really good explanation for this market, but I'm sure the talking heads are all over it. Halcon has had a couple of great days. Remember, WTI is dropping in price; the Permian is sending a tsunami of oil to the Gulf Coast. No Bakken crude oil derailment in last 24 hours; knock on wood. UNP is surging. They say BNSF is struggling, causing Warren problems. CN apparently the real winner, financially this past quarter or two.

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Bakken Economy: "The" Restaurant In Williston

The Dickinson Press is reporting:

Since opening in December, the club has gathered 93 memberships, a mix of individuals and corporations.

On the corporate deal, four members of the company are in the system for charging food at the three-chef restaurant drinks at the “Member’s Bar,” and they can bring whomever they want.

“Everybody knows what it’s supposed to be like in there. It’s never noisy, there’s a dress code, and you treat it as… a business environment,” said Brom Lutz, an oilfield consultant who serves on the club’s advisory board.

The exclusivity comes partly from the membership fees — starting at $5,000 for an individual and $15,000 for a corporation, plus monthly food minimums. The $25,000 “founding membership” includes signage within the club, a spot on the advisory board and other perks.

Of course, The Dickinson Press led with:

In Williston, where bars and strip clubs are common, but corporate go-tos like Starbucks are far from the reality, Joel Lundeen saw an opportunity to fill a niche.

I was just in Williston for 7 days. I drove everywhere. I did not see one strip club and the only "bar" I saw was an upscale bar and grill on the west side. Of course, the only two strip clubs in Williston (that I am aware of) are on South Main -- which is now closed off for major infrastructure work. At least I heard there were two strip clubs; there may be only one. I really don't know. I assume there are two. And I assume there the old bars in that area are still there, but wow, if that's the perception The Dickinson Press has of Williston, the editors are missing some huge stories. I guess they haven't seen the plans for Northstar Center -- and that's just the "newest" excitement.

I read The Williston Herald every day while visiting the Bakken; I didn't see one advertisement or news story or gossip column on strip clubs in Williston. 

With all the driving I did, I didn't even see any dust, but then I didn't get farther east to Stanley or Parshall. What I did see, was some huge flares. Huge. Not many, but when I did see a flare, it was huge.

I also saw some of the widest roads that exist anywhere in North Dakota. From a man who should know:

Next time you come here you will be driving on the Watford City bypass, the single largest NDDOT project in its history and for Knife River too. 

Alexander bypass will be completed this year also. 

Then you will find construction at the Missouri River bridge until 2016.

I posted video of the Alexander and the Watford City bypass; they are truly incredible. 

But Williston was surprisingly calm this trip. There are NO MORE TRUCKS on the 2&85 bypass west of Williston. Okay, there are were a couple, but compared to last year and before, when the stream of 18-wheelers was non-stop, there was one or two, maybe. When I mentioned that to Willistonites, they were surprised; they had not noticed. But it's true. Where have all the trucks gone? To the truck reliever routes, the new bypasses, to Watford City area, they are all spread out.

The problem with traffic in Williston, now, is not the 18-wheelers but all the pick-up trucks. And unlike all the other oil basins outside the US, no semi-automatic guns or mortar launchers mounted in the beds. 

Last year, the water depot on the southwest side of town invariably had 6 - 10 trucks waiting to get fresh water to frack. This visit, I saw exactly one truck, and that truck was simply parked there, not getting water.

I was quite impressed: the Willistonites seemed to have weathered the storm -- the boom -- quite well. Now it's one to sustained "manufacturing." A new high school ready to break ground. A new elementary school is planned.

Update on The "Megaloads"

The Billings Gazette is reporting.

Remember all those stories about the "megaloads" and the activist environmentalists involvement in slowing down the movement? Well, the project is pretty much completed: the Kearl Lake Oil Sands project, operated by Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil, in north Alberta, is slated to go into production sometime this week.
 
I admire Imperial Oil for putting up with all the nonsense and not giving in.

At the time, it was such a big story, the story got its own "tag" at the bottom of the MDW.

A big "thank you" to Don for sending me the story. I had not checked in on the project for several months now.

The "megaload" story, by the way, was filed under Don Quixote in my non-electronic filing system. Turns out that the story was filed in the correct location; it can now be filed in the circular file.

Non-Energy Links For Past Two Days

October issues of North Dakota Business Magazine has been posted: link here.

A subject near and dear to my heart: megaloads moving, again, in Montana over Lolo Pass. Link here to Billings Gazette.

One very large truckload of Alberta-bound water purification equipment is headed Montana’s way over Lolo Pass.

The shipment was slated to start up U.S. Highway 12 from the Port of Wilma near Lewiston, Idaho, Monday night. It’s expected to take four night moves to reach the Montana line.

Barring weather snafus or other delays, the load and an accompanying coterie of pilot and escort vehicles, could start moving through Missoula and Western Montana after dark on Sunday, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.

Duane Williams, administrator for MDT’s Motor Carrier Division, said Montana has yet to issue a permit but has approved a plan for the megaload to travel up the Blackfoot River, over Rogers Pass and into Canada at the Port of Sweetgrass. That’s the same system of two-lane highways over which a district judge barred Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil of Canada from transporting more than 200 megaloads early this year.

The story at the link says faux-environmentalists have agreed to help monitor progress of the megaloads to ensure that traffic is not held up more than 15 minutes, per the agreed stipulation. 

Thursday Morning Links; Enbridge Talking About Need For a New High-Capacity Bakken Pipeline to Superior, Wisconsin

The Mideast

Turkey authorizes military operations inside Syria. Arab Spring --> war --> unintended consequences. WWI was started on less.

Turkey and Syria exchanging gunfire. Reported all over. No links necessary. Don't get Turkey upset; they play hard. Ask the Kurds. Before the US stepped in.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: this blog is not an investment blog. Do not make any investment decisions on anything you read at this blog. The purpose of the blog is entertainment and information about the Bakken, for the most part.

Bakken Operations

Wells coming off the confidential list have been posted; see sidebar at the right. The well file for the Fettig well makes for very interesting reading.

Enbridge talking about a new pipeline from the Bakken to Superior, Wisconsin.

"Fair to say it would be quite high capacity," he said. "If you look at the growth curve of the Bakken, there's no question that a conduit more 100,000 bbls a day, or 150,000 bbls a day, or 200,000 is probably needed."

RBN Energy: be sure to read the last paragraph of this very interesting article. I still think often of the comment that shipping oil by railroad is of "last resort."

Megaloads, Runways, Ethanol, and Manipulation

Megaloads moving in Montana.

Google as Paris runway shows end, sneak peek at spring's loose shapes, surprising shoes; going see-through at the WSJ; I read the WSJ for the articles, not for the pictures; front page of section D;

For newbies: page 3 of every section of the Wall Street Journal (except perhaps page 3 in the last section) is always the best page. Today is no exception. Huge article on ethanol. Google standoff at pump over new fuel: ethanol lobby vs. station owners. Stand-alone post completed.

Speculators manipulating physical oil delivery? Nope. Google physical-oil oversight won't change, p. C3, WSJ;

A two-year investigation into whether the unregulated physical-oil market is vulnerable to manipulation and needs tighter supervision looks set to end this week with a report that effectively endorses the current system, according to documents seen by The Wall Street Journal.

So, there.

Technology

Wow, H-P is in trouble. Google H-P reels from tech-tonic slide; p. C14, WSJ.

With the prospect of profits declining for three years in a row, H-P risks turning into an unmanageable mess. Too bad that Ms Whitman already has reversed lans to spin off the PC business, meaning there isn't even the prospect of breakup speculation to get investors excited.

And then on page B1, google H-P is punished for grim outlook:

An end to Hewlett-Packard Co.'s long period in the wilderness won't come soon, executives of the Silicon Valley pioneer warned.

The question is whether Ms Whitman will still be there when the company emerges from the wilderness.

Speaking of H-P's problems: it's not much better over at Nokia. Google Nokia weighs sale of its headquarters. To raise cash. It would be ironic if Apple were to establish a brick-and-mortar presence in  Europe, via Finland. The NOKIA sign is exactly the same number of letters as APPLE, though I suppose they would just replace the NOKIA with the iconic black-and-white apple.

Politics

I did not watch the debates last night. But based on what I've read at the Drudge Report and the headlines in the New York Times, LA Times, and the Boston Globe, I understand why no one is talking about the debates here at the Starbucks outside Boston. Generally, every day, I have to put my headphones on and turn the Hillbilly Moon Explosion music up very, very loudly to drown out the political talk. Today: I'm not wearing headphones. No one is talking about the debate. Hmmm. But it's even worse: Yahoo News political analyst: after the debate debacle for Obama, we'll find out if we even  have a race.

Miscellaneous

I'm seeing more and more of this. Google small businesses are meeting an unlikely banker: Amazon.

Redbox, you know the ubiquitous red kiosks and $1-a- night DVD rentals? They may be getting into ticket sales: selling seats to live events with just a $1 fee tacked on. Watch out TicketMaster. Google Redbox dabbles in tickets. This is huge.

Incredible: one of my favorite songs now playing here at Starbucks -- Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. Dylan is good but the Million Dollar Bashers are much, much better. I've embedded it many times at my various blogs.

I see Berkshire Hathaway is hitting new 52-week highs.

MegaLoads -- Idaho, Montana -- Update

Long-time readers know the background to this story. For others, you may want to check this link first.

Now, an update:

Massive coke drums must be shipped overland from inland ports, and while the so-called "megaloads," which can weigh as much as 600,000 pounds and span two highway lanes in width, have been effectively halted on Idaho's scenic Highway 12, the new route takes them from the Port of Pasco, across the Idaho Panhandle--either from Spokane on I-90 or from Lewiston to Moscow and Coeur d'Alene on U.S. 95--and through northwest Montana to the Canadian border.

While push-back on the Highway 12 route pulled major media attention, the new alignment hasn't yet stirred much controversy. That's something Helen Yost, of Moscow-based direct action group Wild Idaho Rising Tide, would like to change.

File under: Don Quixote.

World's Fourth Largest Crane in the Rocky Mountain Oil Region

Updates

Later: I cannot take credit for this one. More than one person has suggested that the old tanks be used for growing algae. Memo to self: note to Interior Secretary to talk to the president about this one. The only downside: mosquitoes would love the breeding opportunity, but lots of DDT could take care of that.  Apologies to Rachel.

Original Post

If I had the time it would be interesting to post a commentary on the oil and gas industry in the Williston Basin, reflecting on the "relative" obscurity of the biggest energy play going on in the world right now. I really don't know if the Williston Basin is the biggest energy play, but it certainly must be in the top five. The Eagle Ford will eventually get there, but it will be obscured somewhat by the fact that everyone knows "Texas" as a center.

But I really don't think most Americans think of North Dakota when asked about oil in the US. I thought about that again, when I saw the photograph of Conoco's Billings (Montana) story (sent to me by Don).

I assume most folks think of North Dakota as depicted in the photograph that is posted at the bottom of this note. 

Very, very few folks will see this story, and even those who do, will likely skip over what I think is the biggest part of the story:

As dawn broke Tuesday, the world's fourth-biggest crane began the delicate task of replacing coke drums at the Billings ConocoPhillips refinery.

Data points:

• that was the first lift; five more lifts to complete the project
• the crane is owned and operated by Mammoet; the crane weighs 1,760 tons
• each new drum weighs 350 tons

But the data point that caught my attention: this is the fourth-largest crane in the world (not in the region, not in the US, not in North America, but in the entire world). That, metaphorically, speaks volumes about the oil and gas industry in the US.

I do believe this process was held up by faux environmentalists blocking megaloads on Idaho and Montana highways, but don't know for sure. I do know that megaloads going to Canada have been held up by faux environmentalists.

Oh, yes, here's the photograph I mentioned above:

North Dakota blizzard, winter, 1936

XOM Subsidiary Chops Megaoads Into Microloads -- Not a Bakken Story

When we last left this soap opera, some megaloads had made it safely to Billings, Montana. In fact, it was so anticlimactic, observers were heard to say, "So, what was the big deal?

Unfortunately, for some it was a big deal, and a faux-environmentalist-leaning judge issued an injunction stopping any more megaloads down US 12.

The owner/shipper has chopped the megaloads into microloads to make them compatible for the interstate.

An Exxon Mobil subsidiary has changed tack after months of being snarled in a legal dispute over plans to haul oversized refinery equipment along scenic two-lane highways in Montana and Idaho to Canada.

Imperial Oil has applied to the Montana Department of Transportation for permits to transport about 300 smaller versions of the so-called megaloads to Alberta via interstates 90 and 15, transportation officials said Friday. That application would include all of the modules destined for the Kearl oil sands project, Imperial spokesman Pius Rolheiser said.

Wouldn't it be a hoot if the microloads were small enough to use US 12 without a special permit. Folks, we got ourselves a convoy. 

Regardless, I guess Plan B is an interstate convoy which will take more diesel and emit more toxins, but the faux-environmentalists can at least say they've won their little piece of the battle.

Have you ever noticed how everything is scenic when Big Oil is involved?

First Megaload Makes It Safely to Billings, Montana, Refinery

The first megaload has reached its destination: the Billings refinery site. Quite a story.

The Billings Gazette provides great story in today's news.

In addition, all the updates can be found here.

Megaload Update: COP's First Megaload Enters Montana Today

The megaload is expected to reach the top of Lolo Pass today. See update here.

Megaloads Moving Mountains -- Not a Bakken Story

Updates

August 10, 2013: they're baaackkk! The protestors. Protestors tried, unsuccessfully, to stop another mega-load shipment of oil equipment for the oil sands. The route is similar: Pacific Ocean by Columbia River barge to Clarkston, Washington, and then by truck from Lewiston, Idaho, to Missoula, MT, over US Highway 12 (in Idaho where the protestors gathered), and then up Montana State Highway 200 to Canada. Montana says no problem. Idaho supporting the movement but the US Forest Service and the feds could still get involved. The Billings Gazette is reporting.

The load is the first of several that Omega Morgan hopes to haul along the same route, despite the anger and litigation the first load launched in Idaho.

In the lawsuit, the tribe and IRU accuse the U.S. Forest Service of shirking its duty to stop the shipment from entering a section of the highway that passes through a federally designated Wild and Scenic River corridor. The two-lane roadway traces the Lochsa and Clearwater rivers, an area protected under the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

Earlier this year, Judge Winmill, presiding over a separate lawsuit on a previous megaload shipment, ruled the Forest Service has the authority to review state permitting plans for over-legal loads passing through the corridor. Forest officials say they have not yet developed the criteria for reviewing megaload permits and last week urged Omega Morgan officials to hold off moving the first shipment across Idaho.

October 23, 2012: surprise, surprise! This seems to have come out of nowhere. Link here to Billings Gazette.

One very large truckload of Alberta-bound water purification equipment is headed Montana’s way over Lolo Pass.

The shipment was slated to start up U.S. Highway 12 from the Port of Wilma near Lewiston, Idaho, Monday night. It’s expected to take four night moves to reach the Montana line.

Barring weather snafus or other delays, the load and an accompanying coterie of pilot and escort vehicles, could start moving through Missoula and Western Montana after dark on Sunday, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.

Duane Williams, administrator for MDT’s Motor Carrier Division, said Montana has yet to issue a permit but has approved a plan for the megaload to travel up the Blackfoot River, over Rogers Pass and into Canada at the Port of Sweetgrass. That’s the same system of two-lane highways over which a district judge barred Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil of Canada from transporting more than 200 megaloads early this year.

October 4, 2012: megaloads moving again in Montana.

Taking the back roads, the first of 29 modules to be shipped from Billings, Montana, to northern Alberta, started moving out this week. Unless I missed it, there was not even one word mentioned about faux-environmentalists trying to stop this movement. The company said it took a "long" time to get the permits but had nothing but nice words to say about Montana DOT: professional, helpful, concerned.

September 18, 2012: I missed this story when it came out in June, 2012.

The contentious Kearl Module Transportation Project is officially history. 

Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil has withdrawn an application for permits to transport hundreds of oversized loads over Lolo Pass and up the Blackfoot River to Canada, the Montana Department announced Wednesday morning in a notice to District Court Judge Ray Dayton. 

Meanwhile, modules modified in size either in factories in South Korea or in Northwest ports have been transported on interstate highway routes through Montana to the Kearl Oil Sands in northeastern Alberta.

My hunch: it probably doesn't cost XOM/Imperial Oil much more to ship smaller modules; it's probably much, much faster; and, can be shipped year 'round. And all the money the Missoulians could have made: restaurants, hotels, motels, service stations, security, police and highway patrol -- well, ... gone. And, ironically, there would have been absolutely no adverse impact on the asphalt roads. Environmental impact? Give me a break.

August 23, 2012: new route seems to have resolved issues, but some die-hard faux environmentalists never give up. 


December 26, 2011: sliced and diced, here's the update. 

November 4, 2011: Exxon subsidiary has changed the "megaloads" to "microloads" so that the tanks will be able to move down the interstate and avoid US Highway 12 completely. It will be a hoot if the new "microloads" are small enough to take US Highway 12 without special permits; then we can have ourselves a convoy.

August 9, 2011: It looks like the fringe element is winning this one. XOM looking to re-route movement and cutting down size of megaloads.

ExxonMobil and Imperial Oil are seeking permission from the state of Washington to ship giant oil refinery equipment to the Port of Pasco, and then move it by truck to Spokane for eventual shipment of Canada.

The companies say they are seeking the new route because intense opposition has slowed their original plans to ship the equipment to the Port of Lewiston in Idaho, and then truck it over scenic U.S. 12 into Montana and finally up to the Kearl oil sands in Canada.

July 15, 2011: Idaho issues permits; XOM megaloads moving again.

June 25, 2011: More protests scheduled.

An environmental activist group is gathering in the Lolo National Forest next month and organizers say they may target oversized truckloads of oil refinery equipment traveling along U.S. Highway 12.


Earth First! organizer Greg Mack of Moscow says the gathering is set to run July 5 through July 12 between the Idaho border and Lolo, Mont.

Mack told the Lewiston Tribune that the day after every annual rendezvous the group performs an act of civil disobedience. He says that if the oversized trucks, dubbed megaloads, aren’t moving at that time, the group may choose a different subject.

Whatever.

June 17, 2011: Idaho issues permits for megaloads.

The Idaho Transportation Department has issued permits for two smaller versions of so-called megaloads of oil equipment to move through northern Idaho on the way to Montana and then Canada.

The permits allow the two Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil loads to start moving as soon as June 27 from Lewiston to Coeur d'Alene and then onto Interstate 90.

Something tells me the "protesters" still won't be happy.

April 25, 2011: Another megaload controversy; this time involving XOM. Same area of the country. 

April 6, 2011: The first megaload made it its Billings refinery destination overnight. Excellent update at this link. 

April 5, 2011: First megaload reaches Billings area today. Second megaload still at Lewiston, Idaho. Second megaload expected to reach Billings in June, 2011.

March 27, 2011: The megaload lawsuits continue. Now the lawsuits move from Idaho to Montana.

The National Wildlife Federation and Missoula County commissioners plan to join other groups in seeking a court injunction to prevent an oil company from moving oversized loads of refinery equipment across Montana, officials say. The court action tentatively planned for this week targets an environmental assessment by the Montana Department of Transportation, said Tony Iollonardo, senior communications manager for the environmentalist group in Washington, D.C.

March 9, 2011: The first COP megaload has gotten over the pass and sits safely at Lolo, Montana; the second megaload is resting quietly at Lolo Hot Springs, due to ice and snow, but expectations are that it will be moving again, soon. But wow, they have a long way yet to go to get to Billings (final destination). But getting over the pass was probably the biggest issue.

February 15, 2011: due to bureaucratic delays in obtaining road permits for megaloads, Imperial Oil/XOM will make some loads smaller to comply with interstate height requirements, allowing some loads to move via the interstates.

February 15, 2011: Thank goodness for common sense. A Republican, of all things, introduced a bill that would require "public comment" before "megaloads" could be moved across Idaho highways. It was defeated. Thank goodness.

February 12, 2011: First COP enters Montana silently and without fanfare. Folks were surprised the megaload was not as big as they expected it to be. Some voiced the same thing I voiced earlier: it's a sad commentary when the United States no longer has the capability to manufacture such tanks, but a country like South Korea can.

Diana Mitchell lives on Highway 12 near Lolo, and like Opie and Hawkins, she was expecting something bigger. Detached from the pull truck but still hooked up to the pusher, the cylinder rose 28 feet above the parking lot and burgeoned 29 feet at its widest.

"It's smaller than I thought it would be, but then again, look at the setting," Mitchell said, gesturing at the Bitterroot Mountains that crowded down on both sides of Lolo Creek. "Everything is going to look small with all this."

February 12, 2011: First COP megaload to enter Montana today (Saturday).

Barring unforeseen problems, the first ConocoPhillips big rig was expected to top Lolo Pass and enter Montana early Saturday morning — with considerable law enforcement presence from both sides of the state line. Protesters are anticipated at the top of the pass. Something tells me there will be more press and more highway patrol than protesters. It's very, very cold out there at this time of the year; the convoy moves during the night; and, its schedule is unpredictable. It's been delayed six days due to weather; out-of-town protesters must have been cooling their heels impatiently. 

Original Posting

I can't remember if I have posted anything on this in the past or not.

This has to do with the legal action to prevent the movement of out-sized cargo on public highways. Following several months of legal maneuvering, the megaloads are moving.

With a rumble heard 'round the Pacific Northwest, the first ConocoPhillips megaload pulled out of town (Lewiston, Idaho) late Tuesday night and started its three-week trek to Billings, Montana.

Police cars and pilot vehicles, an ambulance, a pull truck, a push truck and half a dozen pickups made up the official convoy, which quickly stretched out to a couple of miles long.

"This is the biggest thing that's happened around here in a long time," said Ken Alexander, a retired carpenter who came down from Moscow earlier in the day to watch the last-minute preparations. "I hope they get through with no problem. You and I both know what's going to happen if something goes wrong with the first load. They're going to say ‘I told you so.' "

The distance from Lewiston, Idaho, to Billings, MT, is 560 miles. Over 21 days, that works out to about 25 miles/day. The first day they will get 40 miles under their collective belts.

I think folks are missing the big story. The big story was buried in the sixth paragraph and no one has commented on that.

ConocoPhillips and its moving company, Emmert International, say they've been developing this travel plan for three years in order to safely transport two replacement coke drums to the Billings refinery. Each drum was built in halves in Japan, at what Conoco spokesman Bill Stephens said Tuesday was one of just five factories in the world - all of them overseas - capable of fabricating the massive drums that can stand up to the intense heating and cooling regimen.

The country that put several men on the moon and brought them home safely again is not capable of "fabricating the massive drums that can stand up to the intense heating and cooling regimen." Incredible. This speaks volumes about what has happened to the manufacturing sector in this country. I know the three culprits that have contributed to this debacle but I don't want to step on any toes, so I will leave it at that.

On another, more positive note, the route will follow the exact route of the Lewis and Clark expedition over a century ago, now the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway -- US Highway 12.

I would love to be one of the on-lookers.

Maybe this is the type of Sputnik moment the president was referring to in his State of the Union address. Maybe we can't send folks to the moon any more, but perhaps we can move megaloads of drums built overseas over our mountains.

Idaho, Megaloads, and the Highways: Good News for the OIl Companies

Note: for complete time line and updates of the Idaho megaloads, click here. 

For those following this story, the "headline" will remind you what this story is all about. It's been going on for the past year.

[Update, January 18, 2010: Idaho official approves megaloads. I assume someone will find yet another way to stop this shipment. Sheesh.]