Federal Railroad Administration tightens crude oil regulations

In an effort to improve safety, the Federal Railroad Administration discussed plans to begin asking shipping companies to provide its supply data for crude oil shipments, according to The Wall Street Journal. The FRA believes that some crude oil shipments are transported in unsafe tanker cars.

By using the supply data, the FRA will investigate whether certain oil companies are shipping crude oil with chemicals that would make the transport more hazardous than their current classification.

Some tanker cars have been reported to show "severe corrosion," possibly as a result of the dangerous chemicals included in the mixture.

If shipping companies are unable to provide their supply data, the FRA will work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to independently test specific cars.

The aggressive approach by the FRA comes after a runaway train derailed and exploded in the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic. The train was carrying 72 crude oil tanker cars. Forty seven people were killed in the blast.

"They seem to be saying, 'Get your house in order or we'll do it for you,'" said Grady Cothen, a former FRA safety official.

More information about integrity management issues in the United States can be found at PennEnergy's research area.

Posted courtesy of our friends at PennEnergy


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Rigzone: Rail Delivery of Oil, Petroleum Products Continues to Increase

From Robin Dupre at Rigzone.....

With U.S. crude oil producing at record amounts and outstripping pipeline capacity, the country is relying heavily on railroads to move new crude oil to refineries and storage centers, reported the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Wednesday.

The total amount of crude oil and refined products being transported by rail is close to 356,000 carloads during the first half of 2013, up 48 percent from the same period last year, according to Association of American Railroads.

“U.S. weekly car loadings of crude oil and petroleum products averaged nearly 13,700 rail tankers during the January to June 2013 period. With one rail carload holding about 700 barrels, the amount of crude oil and petroleum products shipped by rail was equal to 1.37 million barrels per day during the first half of 2013, up from 927,000 barrels per day during the first six months of last year. Crude oil accounted for about half of the 2013 daily volumes," reported AAR.

"Increases in rail transportation multifactor productivity can be traced to technical progress, such as improved capital inputs and technological changes in the form of improved methods of service delivery. Improved technology for locomotives, freight cars, and track and structures have increased reliability and reduced maintenance needs," added the United States Department of Transportation.

A large portion of the produced crude oil is from North Dakota where there is not enough pipeline capacity to move supplies, therefore dependency on delivery of oil by rail is substantial. North Dakota currently ranks as the second largest oil producing state after Texas, reported EIA.

"The roughly 700,000 barrels per day of crude oil, which includes both imported and domestic crude oil, moved by rail compares with the 7.2 million barrels of crude oil the United States produces daily," added EIA.

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