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Canadian Oil Train Derails, Burns After Brakes Activated

A Canadian National Railway train carrying crude oil and propane derailed and caught fire in New Brunswick on Tuesday night after the emergency brakes were activated, federal safety officials said on Wednesday. The accident, the latest in a string of derailments that have put the surging crude-by-rail business under scrutiny, involved 17 cars on the railway’s main line, Canadian National Chief Executive Claude Mongeau told a news conference. Five cars carrying crude from western Canada and four carrying propane were among the derailed cars, he said. There were no injuries, but the fire that followed the derailment burned through the night. Approximately 150 residents were evacuated, local officials said. "At this point, the issue is contained, but of course things are evolving and we will be addressing the situation with the greatest possible safety," said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Canadian Railway CEO Apologizes After Train Derailment

;Several oil tankers continued to burn into the early evening Wednesday in eastern Canada, a day after the train carrying them derailed and caught fire, forcing the evacuation of 150 nearby residents and an apology from the chief executive of the train’s operator. A total of 17 cars, including five tankers carrying crude oil and four propane tankers, went off the tracks at 7:06 p.m. local time Tuesday about, 2.8 miles east of Plaster Rock, New Brunswick, near the Maine border, according to CN. The accident comes in a country still reeling from the derailment of a train in Quebec which left 47 people dead last summer when its crude cargo exploded in the center of the town of Lac-Mégantic. It also follows on the heels of a Dec. 30 explosion in North Dakota after a collision between two trains, one carrying a cargo of oil tankers. A boom […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fiery Oil-Train Accidents Raise Railroad Insurance Worries

Trains have resumed rolling through this small community again, past 47 Christmas trees in front of St. Agnes Church that honor the townspeople killed last July when a runaway oil train left their downtown in an inferno. The 1 a.m. crash of a driverless train that had broken free from its moorings and barreled downhill before derailing sent waves of flame coursing through town. "The downtown vanished," says Roger Garant, a retiree and city councilman. That raises the question, beyond still-unhealed psychic wounds from the tragedy, of where the money will come from to rebuild. This, in turn, leads unavoidably to a commercial issue in the midst of the human ones: insurance. The cleanup cost alone at Lac-Mégantic is running about $4 million a week, according to Mr. Garant. It may total $200 million, the Canadian government has said. Beyond that comes the expenses for rebuilding the library […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Crude-Derailment Risk Rises as Trains Haul More Oil

People living near rail lines in the U.S. and Canada could be at increasing risk as trains transport more and more of the output of the continent’s energy boom. The danger was underscored this week when a Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR) train hauling propane and crude caught fire en route to a New Brunswick refinery, nine days after the crash of an oil-laden train in North Dakota . They were the latest in a spate of explosive accidents drawing attention to the perils of oil in tank cars on North America ’s tracks. “We’re going to see more disasters, more chances taken,” said John Stephenson , a portfolio manager at First Asset Investment Management Inc. in Toronto who helps oversee C$2.7 billion ($2.49 billion), including shares in pipeline and rail companies. “You’re going to be putting more trains on the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Shocking Prediction: Part II – The 'Second Phase' Of The Oil Boom Could Eclipse The First

Shocking Prediction: Part II – The ‘Second Phase’ Of The Oil Boom Could Eclipse The First Last week, I told you about how the "second phase" of the oil boom could make the first phase look like small potatoes (you can read the article here ). At the end of my article, I mentioned that if the price of oil drops below $70 per barrel, horizontal drilling plays could see their margins shrink considerably, along with investment returns. I know a lot of oil investors are worried about that potential outcome, so I wanted to write this follow-up to show you why I think high oil prices are here to stay, and why over time they’re likely to go higher. If you think we’ve escaped "peak oil" and oil prices are destined to fall… think again. Back in 2008, before the financial crisis […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Shocking Prediction: Part II – The ‘Second Phase’ Of The Oil Boom Could Eclipse The First

Shocking Prediction: Part II – The ‘Second Phase’ Of The Oil Boom Could Eclipse The First Last week, I told you about how the "second phase" of the oil boom could make the first phase look like small potatoes (you can read the article here ). At the end of my article, I mentioned that if the price of oil drops below $70 per barrel, horizontal drilling plays could see their margins shrink considerably, along with investment returns. I know a lot of oil investors are worried about that potential outcome, so I wanted to write this follow-up to show you why I think high oil prices are here to stay, and why over time they’re likely to go higher. If you think we’ve escaped "peak oil" and oil prices are destined to fall… think again. Back in 2008, before the financial crisis […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Crude Futures Hover Higher After US Stocks Drawdown

Brent crude-oil futures were somewhat higher in London trading Wednesday, but gaining only scant support from large draws on U.S. stockpiles and residual tension in North Africa. Brent crude for February delivery was up 17 cents, or 0.2%, at $107.52 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were up 8 cents at $93.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices recovered slightly Tuesday after five days of declines that followed the re-opening of an important oil field in Libya. JBC Markets said that Libyan export capacities remain limited, however, despite the government’s success in regaining control over the El-Sharara field that had been shut for several months. In the U.S., the American Petroleum Institute revealed that stocks had fallen by 7.3 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 3. Such draws suggest a tighter market, which could also support prices. Opinion is […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Futures Boosted by API Data

Crude-oil futures were higher in Asian hours Wednesday as prices got a boost from an American Petroleum Institute report showing U.S. stocks fell by 7.3 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 3. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at $93.98 a barrel at 0606 GMT, up $0.31 in the Globex electronic session. February Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.08 to $107.43 a barrel. "Despite ongoing strong crude production in the U.S. due to the shale oil and gas boom, the continuous fall in stockpiles denote strong demand for the commodity," said Singapore-based Phillip Futures analyst Tan Chee Tat. Crude-oil prices are also supported by cold weather in the U.S., he added. Mr. Tan added the focus currently is on Libyan production following the reopening of the al-Sharara oilfield, one of the country’s largest, over the weekend. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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WTI Rises for Second Day as U.S. Stockpiles Seen Dropping

West Texas Intermediate rose for a second day on speculation government data will show crude stockpiles declined a sixth week in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures climbed as much as 0.5 percent in New York . Crude inventories fell by 2.75 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Information Administration report today. The coldest U.S. weather in almost 20 years also signaled fuel demand may gain. In Iraq , al-Qaeda and allied fighters vowed to resist government forces trying to retake towns Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says are under the terrorist group’s sway. “Markets are likely to trade mostly sideways,” said Michael Poulsen, an analyst at Global Risk Management Ltd. in Middelfart, Denmark . “Various issues remain in the geopolitical scene. We set geopolitics as moderately bullish.” WTI for February delivery advanced as much as 51 cents to $94.18 a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Tumble Sends U.S. Trade Gap to Four-Year Low: Economy

A plunge in oil imports pushed the trade deficit in November to the lowest level in four years, showing the U.S. economy is becoming more energy independent. The gap narrowed 12.9 percent to $34.3 billion, smaller than projected by any economist surveyed by Bloomberg and the least since October 2009, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington . Petroleum imports were the weakest in three years as advances in domestic extraction put the U.S. on track to become the world’s largest oil producer by 2015. The fuel-driven drop in purchases from abroad overshadowed record demand for foreign autos, parts and capital goods that indicate spending by American consumers and businesses is strengthening. Exports also were the strongest ever as improving economies in Europe and Asia benefit companies like Boeing Co. (BA) , contributing to a pickup in manufacturing. Related: Republican Murkowski Urges End to […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple