Shipments

The decline in unconventional oil and natural gas drilling in shale fields across the country has cut into the benefits for the nation's leading railroads, with everything from crude-by-rail to oilfield supply shipments curtailed through the first quarter of this year.

Concern about crude oil rail accidents has drawn the attention of regulators and the public, but more Bakken Shale crude oil today is, for the first time, being transported into California via barge, according to the California Energy Commission (CEC).

Rail crude oil shipments to California were up sharply compared to the same period last year, according to statistics kept by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

The future of continued robust growth in railing domestic crude oil supplies has come into question following the Quebec oil tanker car derailment in July, but the transporters don’t see a slowing trend longer term.

Rail transport of oil is in for a long-term ride in moving burgeoning U.S. crude supplies and other liquids, according to Rick Bott, president of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources Corp., the largest producer in the Bakken Shale, where railroad shipments in recent months have accounted for more than 70% of the oil moved to market (seeShale Daily,July 11).

The biggest Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) export license yet has been granted for shipments to Asian markets, but no date is set to build any terminals or launch tankers.

The biggest Canadian export license yet has been granted for proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to Asia, but no date is set to build any terminals or launch tankers.

Three liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments have been sent to Japan out of the Kenai LNG plant on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula in recent weeks, according to operator ConocoPhillips.

Tesoro Corp. said it plans to spend about $50 million on rail facilities to boost Bakken Shale crude oil shipments from North Dakota to its refinery in Anacortes, WA. The San Antonio-based company said it hopes to deliver up to 30,000 b/d after the project’s completion, up from the current rate of 1,000 to 2,000 b/d. The project will include loading and unloading facilities and a unit train. Tesoro estimates construction will take between nine months to a year to complete, once the necessary permits are received.