Category: Railroads

graph of net crude supply to PADD1 by source, as explained in the article text Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly Note: All sources are net receipts except field production. PADD is Petroleum Administration for Defense District. Monthly rail receipts of crude oil accounted for more than half (52%) of the crude oil supply to East Coast refineries in February. As U.S. and Canadian production of crude oil has increased, crude supply by rail to East Coast (PADD 1) refineries has grown, displacing waterborne imports of crude oil from countries other than Canada , such as Nigeria. While refinery utilization in Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) 1 in early 2015 has been below typical levels, this still marks the first time in EIA’s dataset that crude deliveries by rail have accounted for such a high percentage of East Coast refinery supply. The growth since 2010 in […]

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ENLARGE Railroad industry plans to petition for a reconsideration or challenge in court U.S. oil-train safety rules. Photo: RUSSELL GOLD FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Norfolk Southern Corp. NSC -3.08 % Chief Executive Charles W. “Wick” Moorman said that the rail industry will challenge the federal government’s new crude-by-rail rules, adding regulators have “made some serious mistakes in the regulations.” The new safety rules could make shipping crude oil by train prohibitively expensive, Mr. Moorman said in an interview on Tuesday. “At a certain point, the economics are such that you can’t justify shipping the oil. The price to get it to the refinery is too high and the downside of that is that it will throttle the journey toward energy independence in this country,” Mr. Moorman said. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation called for installing new braking systems on trains hauling more than 70 cars of […]

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via Shutterstock. Reproduced at Resilience.org with permission. The long-awaited  oil-by-rail regulations  released today [May 1] are basically a guidebook for the oil and rail industries to continue doing business as usual when it comes to moving explosive Bakken crude oil by rail. DeSmog  recently reported  on how the Obama administration has worked behind the scenes to help achieve the oil industry’s top goal when it came to these new regulations — allowing the oil producers to continue to put the highly volatile Bakken crude oil into rail tank cars without removing the natural gas liquids that make it such an explosive mixture. As we’ve reported, there is a relatively simple fix to end, or significantly reduce, the “bomb train” disasters, via a process known as  stabilization. But the new regulations not only give the industry a pass on doing this, they add to the “we need more research before we […]

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WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States and Canada on Friday announced long-awaited safety rules for trains carrying oil, as regulators seek to reduce risks after a series of explosive accidents that accompanied a surge in crude-by-rail shipments. The rules call for a rapid phase out of older tank cars considered unsafe during derailments, and are more aggressive than even some of the toughest proposals yet put forward. The rail and energy sectors have already expressed concern that the required speed of the phase outs is not feasible and the potentially billions of dollars in costs will be too high for the small safety improvements they deliver. Shares of railroad car and equipment manufacturers rose after the announcement. Under the rules, announced by Canada’s Minister of Transport, Lisa Raitt and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, tank cars built before October 2011 known as DOT-111 will be phased out within […]

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ENLARGE U.S. transportation regulators issued tough new rules for railroads hauling crude oil and ethanol that will require trains be equipped with expensive new brake systems. Photo: Associated Press U.S. transportation regulators Friday issued tough new rules for railroads hauling crude oil and ethanol that will require trains be equipped with expensive new brake systems. The regulations also require that sturdier tank cars be built for hauling oil, ethanol and other flammable liquids and prescribes upgrades for an estimated 154,500 tank cars already carrying flammables. Trains carrying large amounts of crude oil will be restricted to 30 mile an hour speeds if they don’t have new electronic brakes installed by 2021. Other flammable liquids, including ethanol in high volumes would be speed-restricted after 2023. Trains with either a block of 20 or more cars or a total of 35 or more cars of flammable liquid will be required to […]

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WASHINGTON, DC, May 1 Legislation to accelerate the phase-out of older rail tank cars to reduce accidental crude oil spills has been introduced by Finance Committee Ranking Minority Member Ronald L. Wyden (D-Ore.) and six other US Senate Democrats. The bill, S. 1175 , also would impose a fee of $175/shipment on older tank cars and would make a tax credit available to railroads that upgrade newer cars to the highest required safety standard. “It’s time for the [US] Department of Transportation to push faster and more aggressively to make oil-by-rail transportation safer,” Wyden said on Apr. 30. “This legislation takes a market-based approach to get unsafe cars off the tracks and safer cars on the tracks more quickly.” The bill also would use the revenue raised by the fee to help communities and first responders be better prepared in the event of a rail accident. It would establish […]

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The leading voice for the refining sector on Thursday said it was not realistic for U.S. regulators to expect existing oil train tankers to be retired within five years, and sought a meeting with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). "The emphasis on tank car modifications through an overly aggressive and infeasible retrofit schedule creates the incorrect perception that tanks car improvements are the magic remedy," Charles Drevna, the president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers wrote. On Friday, the U.S. Transportation Department and Transport Canada are expected to outline a cross-border oil train safety plan. North Dakota’s Bakken energy fields rely on oil trains to reach distant refineries but several such shipments have derailed in fiery mishaps in the last two years. Regulators have struggled with how to make such cargo safer without cramping a major source of domestic energy. Drevna’s letter urged regulators […]

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ENLARGE Traffic backs up while a train crosses President Street in Savannah, Ga. A growing number of cities and towns are fed up with the boom in rail traffic. Photo: Stephen B. Morton for The Wall Street Journal Every day, as up to eight freight trains pass back and forth on the outskirts of historical downtown Savannah, Ga., they blow their horns at every single one of the 24 rail crossings along the three-mile stretch. That is making the Genesee & Wyoming Inc. GWR -2.11 % railroad anything but popular along tracks that, until four years ago, were essentially dormant. Noble L. Boykin Jr., whose law firm is on East 38th Street, said he and other attorneys have to take “train breaks” during depositions. He has to step into a closet for phone calls. He also lives near the tracks, so he can’t escape them—even at 5 a.m. “Everybody […]

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US and Canadian officials on Friday will jointly announce new tank car safety standards for trains carrying crude oil, ethanol and other flammable liquids, the US Department of Transportation said Thursday. The announcement came as seven Democratic US senators introduced a bill that would impose a $175/car fee on shippers using older DOT-111 tank cars, adding to the chorus of lawmakers pressuring the Obama administration to finalize its long-anticipated crude-by-rail regulations. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt will be meeting Friday in Washington to harmonize standards between the two countries, according to sources. US regulators have been criticized for how long it has taken to finalize crude-by-rail safety rules first proposed in July, as oil train derailments continue to make headlines. Article continues below… Oilgram News brings you fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news on and including: Industry players, upstream and downstream markets, refineries, midstream […]

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