Posted on 05/05/2015 5:08:33 AM PDT by thackney
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 inland domestic and Canadian crude oil production created an opportunity for U.S. and Canadian railroads to move crude oil to U.S. refining centers on the Gulf, East, and West coasts as well as to refineries in Canada. Much of the crude oil moved by rail is produced from the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and eastern Montana. Bakken crude supplied by rail to U.S. East Coast refineries, along with U.S. crude production supplied by marine vessels from the Gulf Coast, has reduced demand for foreign crude oil at the East Coast refineries. In January 2014, domestic crude oil accounted for half of all East Coast refinery crude oil receipts, and crude-by-rail net receipts to the East Coast surpassed non-Canadian crude oil imports.
The growth in crude-by-rail shipments to East Coast refineries has been made possible by expansions in the capacity to load and unload crude oil from trains. Some facilities handle individual rail cars or a small number of rail cars (known as manifest trains), and others are built for unit trains, which consist of 80 to 120 rail cars carrying crude oil.
Rail terminals are now better equipped to load and unload unit trains. Five years ago, U.S. rail loading capacity for crude oil was almost entirely for manifest trains, but now more than 30 loading terminals throughout the United States can accommodate unit trains. On the East Coast, 10 terminals can unload crude oil unit trains. Crude-by-rail unloading facilities are located on both refinery property and at nonrefinery sites that have access to additional modes of transportation, including marine and short-distance pipeline, that allow the crude oil to be shipped on to refineries. As more unit train unloading terminals have been added, some volumes that previously transferred to vessels in Albany before moving on to refineries in New York Harbor, the Philadelphia area, and Canada now are moved directly by rail closer to their ultimate destinations.
Locally I see a good many trains with the 1267 placard. It piques my curiosity to see one train eastbound and one westbound at the same time, both full. Why not leave the oil back there closer to where it came from instead of expending the transportation on it?
Oh . . . and one of my dream jobs would be to offload coal or oil at rail terminals. Getting too old for that now, I reckon.
Not all oils are equal. Different refineries are optimized for different oil, heavy, sour, light, sweet, etc. That could be one explanation.
You might also be seeing oil moved that is partially refined, gas-oil product for example.
Too many variables to know for sure, what you were seeing.
That makes sense. Interesting how taste is used in connection with this commodity (sweet, sour).
Rather than replacarding empty unit trains as "Residue" cars, they just leave the 1267 DOT placards on. Look at the springs on the trucks to tell if they are loads... or depending on the ruling grade the power assigned. I can tell just from the sound.
I recently spent a weekend with my old RR buddies out near Horseshoe Curve at a friend's B&B that caters to train nuts (it's a niche market, but very lucrative for the location)... a LOT of loaded CBR unit trains eastbound, an equal number of empties westbound.
I love the smell of interstate commerce in the morning.
That makes sense, too: Leaving the placards in place. Cassandra Overpass, Carney Crossing, Lilly, Gallitzin, Altoona, and beyond. I love the smell of creosote anytime.
US oil production bump for later...
It gives me a decent feeling to know that I was directly involved in the design and construction of 2 of these terminals in the Permian Basin back in 2012 and 2013. Makes me feel like I have contributed something positive to the National economy, regardless of the actions of the Marxist cocksucker in the White House, or the Quisling Republicrats that ignorant voters seem to refuse to primary their asses out on the street.
My buddy with the B&B has a webcam at his place in Cresson. I dunno, the stream doesn't seem to work for me right now, but here is a link:
Thank you. Yes. I make use of the web cams through a premium membership at railstream.net. Mostly watch Fostoria, OH, West and East while monitoring with ATCSmon. I’ve become acquainted with your friend’s B&B from a distance and even driven past it a couple times.
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