Bakken Crude, Massive increase in crude-by-rail, Oil stabilization, State regulation, Volatile gases

North Dakota to Require Producers to Treat Crude Before Shipping

Repost from The Wall Street Journal

North Dakota to Require Producers to Treat Crude Before Shipping

Move Comes Amid Growing Safety Concerns About Oil-Laden Trains

By Chester Dawson, The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 13, 2014

Reuters
Reuters

North Dakota plans unprecedented steps to ensure crude pumped from the state’s Bakken Shale oil producing region is safe enough to be loaded into railroad tank cars and sent across the country.

In the first major move by regulators to address the role of gaseous, volatile crude in railroad accidents, the North Dakota Industrial Commission, which regulates energy production in the state, said it would require Bakken Shale well operators to strip gases from crudes that show high vapor pressures.

“We believe the vast majority of our Bakken oil will fall well below the standard,” Lynn Helms, director of the state’s Department of Mineral Resources, said at a news conference.

The proposed state rule will require all operators to run crude oil through equipment that heats up the crude and forces out gases from the liquid. An estimated 15% of current producers without such equipment will have to submit quarterly test results showing their wells don’t exceed the state’s proposed 13.7 pounds a square inch vapor pressure limit, Mr. Helms said.

Those changes could make the new rules more costly for the state’s smaller producers. Jack Ekstrom, vice president of government affairs for Whiting Petroleum Corp. said the rules don’t appear to be “a major material cost” he said. “This is perhaps more of a concern to a marginal or smaller operator.”

A representative for the North Dakota Petroleum Council, an industry lobbying group, criticized the proposed rules for “micromanaging the industry,” and said they could lead to unintended consequences such as increased burning of excess natural gas at well sites.

The proposal also would prohibit blending condensate or natural gas liquids back into crude and require rail loading terminals to inform state regulators of any oil received for shipment exceeding the vapor pressure limits, Mr. Helms said.

He said the new rules would cost industry, but not enough to make drilling Bakken oil uncompetitive.

Scott Skokos, an organizer with landowners’ group Dakota Resource Council, called the move by the regulator “a step in the right direction.”

The state’s decision follows months of officials’ playing down the possibility that Bakken crude was more volatile and could explode more readily than other North American crudes.

Several oil trains have derailed and exploded since 2013, spurring concern about the safety of growing numbers of oil-carrying trains delivering oil produced by the shale boom.

‘…a step in the right direction.’

—Scott Skokos, Dakota Resource Council

The Wall Street Journal reported in February that Bakken crude contained several times the amount of combustible gases as oil from elsewhere. Relying on an analysis of data collected at a pipeline in Louisiana, the Journal pointed out that oil from the Bakken Shale had a far higher vapor pressure, making it much more likely to emit combustible gases, than dozens of other crude oils.

The proposed rules specify how wells should treat the oil to ensure it is “in a stable state,” according to Mr. Helms.

Executives from the top oil companies working in the Bakken Shale told state regulators in a September hearing that their crude is safe to transport by train using existing treatment methods, opposing potentially costly requirements that they make the oil less volatile before shipping it.

But studies by the U.S. and Canada have indicated that Bakken crude is more volatile than other grades of oil. Industry-funded studies, including one commissioned by the NDPC, have said Bakken oil is no different than other types of light oil.

The state expects to issue final rules by December 11th.

Production of light shale oil through hydraulic fracturing has soared, accounting for most of the additional three million barrels a day of oil that the U.S. produces today compared with 2009. Much of that is shipped to refineries by railcars, especially crude produced from Bakken Shale due to the area’s few pipelines.

Bakken Crude, Derailment, Ethanol

LATEST DERAILMENT: Casselton … again

Repost from The Bismarck Tribune
[Editor: Note that this derailment took place near an ethanol plant!  According to one report, “The cars hit some propane tanks on the property, which is owned by BNSF, but there were no leaks or explosions.”  UPDATE, photos and video,Valley News Live, Fargo: Broken Rail Caused Trains to Derail.  – RS]

Two trains involved in derailment near Casselton, North Dakota

2014-11-14, By Adrian Glass-Moore, Forum News Service
Derailment
Lumber and debris is cleaned up Friday from the site of a BNSF derailment west of Casselton, N.D. David Samson / The Forum

CASSELTON, N.D. – For the second time in under a year, two BNSF Railway trains have derailed just west of Casselton.

“Welcome to Casselton, again,” is how Casselton Fire Chief Tim McLean greeted reporters at a news conference following Thursday night’s incident.

No one was injured when 12 or 13 empty crude oil cars from a westbound train and an unknown number of cars from an eastbound train carrying lumber derailed, McLean said.

“We dodged a bullet again,” said Casselton Mayor Lee Anderson, recalling the fiery explosion last December when a BNSF train carrying oil derailed west of here.

The mayor said he felt “disappointment” overall at Thursday’s incident, but was “pleased that it happened out of town and didn’t cause any serious problems like it did last time.”

Authorities found no hazardous materials or leaking tanker cars Thursday, McLean said. Lumber was scattered in the area, he said.

“There was severe track damage,” McLean said. “I’m sure they’ll be replacing the rails on both tracks.”

Authorities don’t know which train caused the derailment, said McLean, who added that BNSF will investigate the cause of the derailment.

Propane tanks on BNSF property were struck in the derailment, but do not appear to be compromised, a news release from the Sheriff’s Department said.

“Fortunately, this one here turned out better than last year’s,” McLean said.

Cass County sheriff’s deputies and other officials responded at 5:34 p.m. to a report of a derailment in the 3500 block of 153rd Avenue Southeast, near the Tharaldson Ethanol plant.

Steve Fox said he was working on the nearby McIntyre Pyle farm when the trains derailed.

Fox and his co-workers went out to retrieve two pickup trucks from a field about 5:30, he said.

“There was an eastbound train and I saw sparks off the last car of the eastbound train, so I assume that was the breaks,” he said.

As soon as Fox noticed tanker cars on the westbound side of the tracks, he and his co-workers quickly left because the memory of the explosion in December was still fresh, he said.

Fox said his reaction was, “Let’s get the pickup and let’s get the heck out of here.”

Last Dec. 30, a BNSF train hauling crude oil from western North Dakota derailed about a half-mile west of Casselton, causing a massive explosion. No one was hurt in the explosion, though it has prompted increased calls for safety in shipping oil by rail.

In the December derailment, 13 cars from a westbound soybean train derailed, and one of the derailed cars ended up on the adjacent track. An oncoming train hauling crude oil struck the derailed train, causing the two lead locomotives of the oil train and its first 21 cars to derail. In addition to the 20 oil-carrying tank cars, a train car carrying sand also derailed. In all, the soybean train had 112 cars and the oil train had 106 cars.

A National Transportation Safety Board report on the derailment said the soybean train was traveling about 28 mph when the crew applied emergency brakes. The oil train was going about 43 mph when the crew applied emergency brakes, and its estimated speed at the time of the crash was only 1 mph slower, 42 mph.

“We have a lot of things go through, a lot of them are oil, a lot of them are I don’t know what,” Anderson said Thursday night. “That’s obviously a concern. … They go through fast and they’ve wanted to go through faster.”

Anderson said his city’s request that trains go no faster than 40 mph within city limits has been respected.

“We can’t do anything outside of city limits,” where the two recent derailments took place, said Anderson, who took over as mayor in June. The city doesn’t even “have the authority to enforce the speed limit” in the city, he said.

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Emergency Readiness & Response, Massive increase in crude-by-rail

Indiana derailment emergency response plan: evacuate homes and let it burn

Repost from WANE-TV, Fort Wayne, IN
[Editor: Significant quote by Auburn Indiana Fire Chief Mike VanZile: “’Defensively, to let something burn is usually the safest for the environment. If we start adding a bunch of foam, a bunch of water to a product and it goes into city sewers, lakes, streams, rivers, waterways, the environmental impact could last for years,’ VanZile explained. ‘If it’s one car involved, we would have the resources to help start putting that fire out. If it’s multiple cars, we don’t have close to the resources to do that.’”

Evacuations likely if an oil train derails

By Adam Widener, November 13, 2014


FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Northeast Indiana is a major corridor for railroads. It’s no stranger to hazardous shipments and derailments.  One particular product is traveling through at increasingly high rates: crude oil.

Explosive and even deadly derailments have recently brought oil train concerns into the national spotlight. It’s a scenario first responders are preparing for now, more than ever.

If an oil train catches fire, the emergency response plan includes evacuating homes and letting the trains burn out, instead of fighting the blaze.

More crude oil produced in North Dakota is being shipped through northeast Indiana and across the U.S. Since the beginning of 2013, there have been at least 10 major oil train derailments in the U.S. and Canada.  One incident in Quebec killed 47 people.

The trend has caught the attention of federal safety regulators, who have proposed a handful of new regulations to make oil trains safer.

A Norfolk Southern train derailed east of New Haven on September 15.
A Norfolk Southern train derailed east of New Haven on September 15.

15 Finds Out: First responders left in the dark regarding oil train stats

Northeast Indiana isn’t exempt from train derailments. In September, a Norfolk Southern train derailed just east of New Haven. Fortunately, most of the tank cars were empty. Officials said no chemicals or hazardous materials spilled.

Serious hazmat incidents

Other areas across the state haven’t been as fortunate.  15 Finds Out looked up records with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). They state there have been six “serious” hazmat incidents on Indiana railroads since January 1, 2010. Fortunately, none involved crude oil.

One of the worst accidents happened in Ligonier in March of 2012.  More than 200,000 pounds of molten sulfur spilled when a Norfolk Southern train derailed.  Some of it caught fire and more than 100 people from 56 homes had to be evacuated because of the toxic plume of smoke.

Other areas impacted include:

  • Portage – 6/6/10: A CSX train derailed and spilled 22,000 pounds of Polymeric Beads in super sacks
  • Oakland City – 6/1/12: A mixed freight train derailed and spilled 16,424 gallons of ethanol. It caused $876,000 in damage
  • Avon – 10/5/13: A CSX train leaked 0.1 gallons of hydrochloric acid
  • Westville – 1/6/12: Three trains collided, caught fire, and spilled almost two gallons of flammable alcohols. 54 people were evacuated.
  • Hammond – 12/28/11: An Indiana Harbor Belt train derailed and spilled 150 gallons of diesel fuel
More than 200,000 pounds of molten sulfur spilled when a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ligonier in 2012.
More than 200,000 pounds of molten sulfur spilled when a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ligonier in 2012.

But what if the incidents had involved crude oil?  Michael “Mick” Newton, Noble County Emergency Management Director, handled the Ligonier incident.  He said the local response would be similar no matter what hazardous material derails.

Emergency crews plan to call railroad leaders, who will respond to clean up the derailment. They will also immediately get people out of the “danger area,” which could include anyone living near the toxic plume of smoke.

Newton exclusively showed 15 Finds Out an app EMA directors would use in the case of a derailment and toxic fire.

“This program gives us an idea how far, worst case scenario, to evacuate,” Newton explained. One oil train simulation had evacuations up to five miles away from the potential derailment.

Auburn Fire Chief Mike VanZile said his team has recently trained more on crude oil derailments than ever before. He said if an oil train derailed and caught fire, his crews will have to let it burn.

“Defensively, to let something burn is usually the safest for the environment. If we start adding a bunch of foam, a bunch of water to a product and it goes into city sewers, lakes, streams, rivers, waterways, the environmental impact could last for years,” VanZile explained. “If it’s one car involved, we would have the resources to help start putting that fire out. If it’s multiple cars, we don’t have close to the resources to do that.”

With a greater number of oil trains traveling through places like Fort Wayne, Auburn, and Garrett, federal officials say the risk for these extreme responses is growing.

Newton made it clear that he’s not overly concerned by the rising number of oil trains traveling through his county. But when asked for the worst case scenario, he said, “If it were to happen here in the town of Albion or in a community, that would be my worst nightmare because the area we would have to evacuate.”

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Emergency Readiness & Response, Explosion, Fire

Firefighters will sometimes stand back and let an oil train fire burn itself out

[Editor: The question arose here in Benicia whether emergency personnel sometimes choose to stand back after an oil train derailment and explosion and let a fire burn itself out.  Many reports show that this is in fact the case when there is a huge explosion following a Bakken oil train wreck.  – RS]

Casselton, North Dakota
Casselton, North Dakota

From the White Plains NY Journal News http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2014/04/23/crude-oil-derailments-fire-concerns/8054931/)
WASHINGTON – Crude oil and ethanol fires caused by derailed freight trains are left to burn out on their own because first responders can’t extinguish them, fire safety officials told the National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday….“They are no-brainers,” Greg Noll of the National Fire Protection Association said during the second day of a two-day forum on safety issues linked to rail transport of crude oil and ethanol. “There is very little we as first responders are going to do.”….Even multiple fire departments located near the site of a railroad tanker fire don’t have enough foam to extinguish such blazes, which can spread from car to car.

From NorthJersey.com (http://www.northjersey.com/news/environment/firefighters-want-countywide-plan-1.1113693)
“The rapid growth is going to be beyond anything we can contain,” said Bergenfield Fire Chief Jason Lanzilotti, who held a response drill to an oil train derailment over the summer. “Evacuation is a major problem. Fire suppression is out of the question. There has to be some kind of framework so that not every town is individually looking at what needs to be done.” … Tiedemann talked about different methods firefighters may take in dealing with an oil train fire. He said it may be more dangerous to try to put a fire out immediately since the oil could flow away from the wreckage and reignite elsewhere.

From the Bellingham Herald: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/09/14/3853569_preparing-for-the-worst-is-whatcom.html?rh=1
When faced with an event like a derailment, first responders have to decide whether to fight or surround the problem, depending on available resources and the size and intensity of any fire or spill, said Roger Christensen, Bellingham’s interim emergency manager and recently retired fire chief….“If you’re faced with an event you can’t do anything about, you have to decide how to protect what’s around it,” Christensen said….  “Even with a lot of foam you may not be able to put that fire out,” Brady told those at the White Salmon meeting. […quoting Patrick Brady, BNSF director of Hazardous Materials Special Operations].

From NRDC Switchboard, Diane Bailey’s Blog  (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dbailey/this_washington_that_washingto.html)
How can emergency responders deal with crude oil rail accidents?  A panel concluded that the best tactic is to let a derailment burn, pull back, and take a “defensive posture”.  Emergency responders were clear that the ongoing crude oil rail disasters are beyond their capabilities to handle.  “Even with an infinite amount of costly foam”, letting them burn is the only sensible approach (and this is what was done in Lynchburg this afternoon).  They note that major derailments would require enormous amounts of foam, there is not enough water to apply it especially in rural areas, and anyway, they cannot get close enough to the fires to apply it.  Derailments in urban areas would pose significant operating risks that go well beyond current operational capabilities for emergency responders.  [source was Rail Safety Consultant Fred Millar’s notes from the April 2014 rail safety forum in DC]

On the Casselton, ND fire – from The Associated Press (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/crews-respond-fiery-nd-train-derailment)
[About Casselton, ND] Investigators couldn’t get close to the blaze…and official estimates of how many train cars caught fire varied….The cars were still burning as darkness fell, and authorities said they would be allowed to burn out.

Also on the Casselton fire: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/12/30/there-was-a-huge-fireball-train-carrying-crude-oil-explodes-after-derailing-in-north-dakota/
Cass County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tara Morris…estimates about 10 cars from a mile-long train caught fire and will have to burn out. She said it could take up to 12 hours before authorities can get close.

On the Lynchburg, VA fire – from Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/30/us-railways-accident-virginia-idUSBREA3T0YW20140430)
JoAnn Martin, the city’s director of communications, said three or four tank cars were leaking, and burning oil was spilling into the river, which runs to Chesapeake Bay. She said firefighters were trying to contain the spill and would probably let the fire burn itself out.

Also on the Lynchburg fire – from The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/02/lynchburg-virginia-oil-train-crash_n_5251991.html?utm_hp_ref=green)
Lynchburg officials evacuated some buildings and let the fire burn out…Richard Edinger, assistant fire chief in the Richmond suburb of Chesterfield County, said no fire department except those at some refineries has sufficient equipment and materials to deal with exploding oil-filled tank cars.

On the Lac-Mégantic fire – from In These Times (http://inthesetimes.com/article/16623/official_tipped_off_hess_rail_yard_about_unannounced_oil_inspection)
Canadian safety investigators found American shippers in North Dakota’s Bakken region had understated the volatility of the oil that ignited and destroyed much of Lac Mégantic’s downtown area. Improper classification caused the shipment to be transported in an improper package. Emergency responders, too, were caught by surprise at how quickly the fire spread and how long it burned.

Note that in Lac-Mégantic, the fire burned for the better part of two days.  See the NTSB report (http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/2014/R-14-004-006.pdf).  Also Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lac-M%C3%A9gantic_rail_disaster) and The Globe and Mail (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/okay-were-in-hell-lac-megantic-fire-chief-recounts-night-of-train-explosion/article21137065/).

On RURAL accidents (let’s not forget about all of our uprail communities along UP’s tracks), this from Maine’s SeacoastOnline.com (http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20140417-NEWS-140419756)
The first people on scene at a rural oil incident will be declining numbers of volunteer firefighters who are hours from the highly-trained response teams and special kind of equipment, materials and gear needed to handle oil fires. Of 59 communities along rail lines, five have no fire department and 27 rely on solely volunteers.

 

 

For safe and healthy communities…