Category Archives: Bakken Crude

Bakken Crude, Oil stabilization, Reid vapor pressure levels, State regulation, Volatile gases

North Dakota debating new vapor pressure standards

Repost from The Jamestown Sun, Jamestown, ND
[Editor: The proposed ND vapor pressure standards seem rather lax to my inexpert eyes.  See comparative Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) levels mentioned in an August 9 posting here on BenIndy: “On June 2nd Quantum Energy met with OIRA and presented a simple three-page presentation. The presentation explains how regular crude oil has a Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of 5-7 psi and Bakken crude has an RVP between 8-16 psi. To put that in perspective, gasoline typically has a RVP of 9 psi.”  The proposed new standard in North Dakota according to this article is a “vapor pressure limit of 13.7 pounds per square inch.”  – RS]

Oil industry has ‘significant concerns’ about crude conditioning standards

By STATE/REGION on Nov 14, 2014

BISMARCK — North Dakota oil regulators said Thursday they want more input before approving new standards for removing volatile gases from crude oil before it’s shipped by rail, a proposal an industry representative warned could devalue Bakken crude and contribute to more flaring at well sites.

Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms presented the state Industrial Commission with the proposed standards, part of a national effort to improve oil-by-rail safety in the wake of several explosive oil train derailments.

Helms said the standards would result in Bakken crude “behaving even better than the unleaded gasoline that you put in your cars.”

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who serves on the commission with Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, said the department is “on the right track” with the proposed order. But he wanted more time to sort through it and allow for public comment.

Dalrymple agreed, called it “an excellent working draft” and a “very robust system of verification” for making sure Bakken crude falls within vapor pressure standards before it’s loaded onto the rails.

The commission said it would accept comment on the proposed order until 5 p.m. Wednesday and hold a special meeting by Dec. 11 to consider approving it so the standards can take effect Feb. 1.

Helms said the proposed order strengthens the existing rule by requiring well sites to use a gas-liquid separator and/or a heater-treater to remove so-called “light ends” like butane and propane from crude oil, and mandating the equipment be operated at certain temperatures and pressures.

He estimated 80 percent of existing wells in the Bakken and Three Forks formations would be able to produce oil within the proposed vapor pressure limit of 13.7 pounds per square inch.

National standards recognize oil with a vapor pressure of 14.7 psi or less to be stable, and winter blend gasoline has a vapor pressure of 13.5 psi, he said.

Helms said the average vapor pressure of Bakken crude across several recent studies was 11.8 psi, though “there were significant outliers.”

“We really believe that the vast majority of our Bakken crude oil will already fall well below the standard,” he said.

The roughly 15 percent of wells that operate outside of the temperature and pressure standards would have to hire a third party to test their crude for vapor pressure and submit the results to the state within 15 days. Operators looking to use alternative methods for conditioning or stabilizing their crude would need commission approval after a hearing process.

The proposed order also would ban the practice of blending crude oil with light ends or liquids recovered from gas pipelines before the oil is sold. Dalrymple noted violators can face fines as high as $12,500 per day.

“I think we want to be sure that that’s clear for everybody,” he said.

North Dakota Petroleum Council president Ron Ness cautioned that the standards could devalue Bakken crude by requiring it to be over-treated, at the same time contributing to natural gas flaring by removing more gas at the wellsite.

“I think we have some pretty significant concerns,” he said, adding the Industrial Commission is “getting into the nitty-gritty details of how companies manage their commodities.”

Helms said preliminary figures show 24 percent of the gas produced at North Dakota wells in September was burned off. Flaring reduction standards approved by the commission in July will lower the allowed flaring rate to 23 percent on Jan. 1, 15 percent by 2016 and 10 percent by Oct. 1, 2020.

The proposed oil conditioning standards will make it more challenging for producers to meet those flaring goals, Helms said.

“We’re pushing at both ends of the system, so we’re making life really difficult for these people right now. But it’s got to be safety first,” he said.

A Wall Street Journal article on Wednesday questioned the accuracy of the testing method used in a Petroleum Council-funded study of Bakken crude’s volatility, and Stenehjem asked Thursday whether the Industrial Commission should conduct its own study.

“It has been questioned, simply because it was the industry that conducted it,” he said.

Helms urged the commission to support an ongoing U.S. Department of Energy study that could involve the Energy & Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks.

Ness said it’s concerning that “the focus is all back on the commodity.”

“The root of the issue is the trains and the train tracks and the accidents,” he said.

Bakken Crude, Crude By Rail, Derailment, Emergency Readiness & Response, Explosion, Fire, Union Pacific Railroad, Valero Benicia Refinery

Derailment fireballs too hot to handle

Repost from The Benicia Herald
[Editor: I wrote the following for publication in the Benicia Herald to comment on our local version of a phenomenon taking place at cities across the nation.  I’ve lost track of the number of Google alerts in recent weeks about first-responder-crude-by-rail-training-events sponsored at great expense by the rail and refinery industries.  In nearly every case, the after-training press releases and interviews serve as pacifiers to public concerns, with assurances of adequate equipment and training should anything go wrong.  This is, of course, far from the case.  Our respected and heroic firefighters are caught in a catch-22: of course they want additional training, but their work should not be made into a pawn in the ugly game of industry painting itself as clean and safe.  – RS]

Roger Straw: A straw man

November 14, 2014 by Roger Straw

THE HERALD’S RECENT TWO PART SERIES (click HERE and HERE) on the Union Pacific Railroad emergency training at Valero for a crude-by-rail accident suggested that someone, somewhere has claimed that “crude oil fires can’t be extinguished” and that “foam doesn’t put out fires.” Valero Fire Chief Joe Bateman called it a “fabrication,” and he’s right. No one I know has claimed this. (Classically, this is referred to as a “straw man” argument … and as you might guess, someone with my last name just can’t resist rising to the bait.)

The fire at Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, is out, so it surely was extinguished, though it took two days beginning with a period when it could not be approached. For a time there was, in fact, no alternative to just letting it burn. The same is true of the explosion in Casselton, N.D. In certain circumstances, firefighters do deliberately let a fire burn itself out. Sometimes this is a triage decision: First responders’ priorities are sometimes directed to saving lives and deflecting the flow of a spill. Other times it is because there is no other choice.

It is accurate to state that foam puts out crude oil fires, but that statement loses its meaning in a worst-case scenario of a major catastrophic derailment and explosion. When there is a massive fire such as that in Lac-Mégantic or Casselton, firefighters have been unable to safely approach the inferno and have indeed been forced to let the fire burn. Foam puts out oil fires, but not when emergency personnel are a half-mile distance from a catastrophic explosion.

I recently received a communication from Fred Millar, a well-known independent consultant and expert on chemical safety and railroad transportation. Millar gives convincing and documented testimony addressing the tactic of “letting it burn itself out.” He wrote, “…in several post-Lac-Mégantic forums (see the NTSB Safety Forum webcast) and in many media articles, the majority of fire service experts have been 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 all the major crude oil disasters in North America).”

Millar’s full statement and nearly a dozen other reputable sources confirm this as fact. (See Benicia Independent articles: Firefighters will sometimes stand back and let an oil train fire burn itself out and Expert on first responder decisions to ‘let it burn’.)

A few questions remain. Did the Union Pacific training include preparation for a massive unapproachable explosion? Do our first responders know what to do (or not do) in the case of another Lac-Mégantic, Lynchburg or Casselton? Have our firefighters and emergency personnel considered how to protect Valero’s Industrial Park neighbors and residents within a 1-mile blast/evacuation zone of a potential major accident? Somehow, I don’t think Union Pacific’s shiny yellow training tank car did much to help our local heroes figure out what to do if a 50-car train carrying millions of gallons of volatile Bakken crude oil derails, punctures and sets off multiple massive explosions.

Yes, I know … not likely. But few would disagree: When it comes to high-risk ventures, “well-prepared” means knowledge of, and readiness for, worst-case scenarios.

For more information, see SafeBenicia.org.

Roger Straw is a Benicia resident.

 

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.