All posts by Roger Straw

Editor, owner, publisher of The Benicia Independent

Other oil train news, last week of December 2015

Editor Roger Straw is on leave for the month of January.  Here are a few links provided by Sophie from Vancouver, Washington.
By Gabriel Collins and Alexander Obrecht on December 21, 2015
OILPRO
Co-authored by Gabriel Collins and Alexander Obrecht
GreenPeace
by Jesse Coleman, April 8, 2015
Riverhead Local
by Denise Civiletti Oct 8, 2015, 7:55 am
Bloomberg
By Debjit Chakraborty,  Yuji Okada, Serene Cheong

Summary of news on oil trains, January 1, 2016 (Google)

Editor Roger Straw is on leave for the month of January.  Here are a few current links provided by Google on crude by rail, oil trains and the climate.

Summary of news on oil trains, January 1, 2016  (Google)

Top oil train stories from 2015
PublicSource
A Bloomberg analysis of federal data shows that 2015 was the costliest year for crude oil train derailments, with $29.7 million in damages — a big …

Two years after Casselton derailment, bringing hazmat training center to Grand Forks still has spark
Grand Forks Herald
He spoke Tuesday on the two-year anniversary of the Casselton oil train … Feland described a facility with an initial focus on a “crude by rail” course …

These Cute Puppies Are the Latest Casualties of the Canadian Oil Sands Crash
VICE News
Alberta’s economy has slumped over the past year due to the worldwide plunge in the price of oil, which is now about half the price it was a year ago.

Danger in Dilbit
Fort Worth Weekly
A new tar sands study finds serious problems with the world’s dirtiest hydrocarbon.  Diluted bitumen, dilbit, is made from combining tar sands (tar mixed with … would have carried diluted bitumen from the tar sands quarries of Alberta, …

2016: What to Look for in Energy and Climate
Climate Central
Growth in emissions from burning fossil fuels halted in 2015 partly because of the global boom in renewable energy — a big deal for the climate …

Koch funds various interest groups
DesMoinesRegister.com
NBCC didn’t say: The study was funded by fossil fuel interests, nor that local chambers of commerce and the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce …

BenIndy off for the holidays and beyond…

2015-06-21 RDS Guerneville indoors (edited, soft, noexit whiteout 350px bdr)The Benicia Independent is a one-person operation, and I’m it.  I’ve been at it for over two and a half years, mostly without a break.  So here’s wishing you a happy holiday and serving notice – I’m taking some time off.

In fact, I have been recruited by my sweetheart and life companion to help prepare a final draft of her book prior to publication, so I might be missing a few deadlines in the month of January.  I promise to post any major news on Benicia’s Valero Crude By Rail proposal, and I’ll post any breaking news on oil train derailments.  But other than that, I may need to leave you to Googling for climate news and other crude by rail stories.

See you in February!

Roger Straw
The Benicia Independent
Editor and publisher

Train Carrying LPG Derails in West Virginia

Repost from Natural Gas Intelligence / Shale Daily

Train Carrying LPG Derails in West Virginia

Jamison Cocklin,  December 28, 2015

A CSX Corp. train carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) derailed early last Thursday in Wetzel County, WV, but no injuries or propane leaks were reported.

Six cars went off the tracks at a rail yard in New Martinsville, about 50 miles south of Wheeling, and four tipped over, CSX said. The cars were not damaged, but it remains unclear what caused the derailment. Both CSX and the Federal Railroad Administration are expected to investigate the cause. First responders said the incident did not affect nearby neighborhoods.

The incident occurred at about 2:45 a.m. EST and forced the company to shut down the stretch of tracks. Public safety officials said no gas leaks were discovered and added that the cars had a double steel casing that likely prevented any leaks.

LPG deliveries via rail in the region have increased with the rise in natural gas liquids production from the Appalachian Basin. Earlier this year, a 109-car CSX train carrying Bakken Shale crude oil derailed in the Mount Carbon area of West Virginia, about 35 miles southeast of Charleston. No injuries were reported, but about 19 rail cars exploded after they derailed (see Shale Daily, Feb. 20).