Category Archives: Oil trains

Canadian oil trains, Crude By Rail, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Oil trains, Tar sands crude

Derailments raise questions about the surge in oil trains

Repost from The Star, Toronto, Ontario

Derailments raise questions about the surge in oil trains

By Gillian Steward, Mon., March 11, 2019
A train derailment is shown near Field, B.C., on Feb. 4. A Canadian Pacific freight train fell more than 60 metres from a bridge near the Alberta-British Columbia boundary in a derailment that killed three crew members. The westbound freight jumped the tracks at about 1 a.m. near Field, B.C.
A train derailment is shown near Field, B.C., on Feb. 4. A Canadian Pacific freight train fell more than 60 metres from a bridge near the Alberta-British Columbia boundary in a derailment that killed three crew members. The westbound freight jumped the tracks at about 1 a.m. near Field, B.C. (JEFF MCINTOSH / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Now that so much oil is being shipped by rail from Alberta to points south and west, the sight of a crumpled freight train on the banks of the Kicking Horse River high in the Rocky Mountains has taken on a new twist.

Normally most of that oil would be shipped by pipeline but with the Trans Mountain project and other pipeline expansions stalled or abandoned, the oil industry has taken to shipping the stuff to refineries and ports by train.

A coalition of Indigenous and environmental groups along with the B.C. government successfully stalled the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion that would carry diluted bitumen from Alberta through B.C. But is this what they wanted? Trains loaded with oil navigating narrow mountain passes, rolling through small communities?

Three crewmen were killed in that horrific derailment in early February when a loaded, parked, Canadian Pacific train of 112 cars started to roll down the track west of Lake Louise.

According to the Transportation Safety Board, it barrelled along for three kilometres before 99 cars and two locomotives toppled off a curve ahead of a bridge and into or near the river.

The only saving grace from this accident is that none of the derailed cars contained bitumen, heavy oils, or other petroleum products. If they had there would have been a toxic mess that would no doubt have cost millions of dollars to clean up.

There have been other CP derailments since. Not as deadly as the one in the Kicking Horse Pass but enough to raise questions about the dangers of shipping oil by train instead of pipeline.

On Feb. 28, 20 rail cars went off the tracks west of Banff. Three days later rail cars carrying diesel fuel and grain went off the tracks in Golden B.C. The next day 20 cars on a CP train derailed in Minnesota. And just this past Saturday two CP trains collided in the rail yards in Calgary forcing at least a dozen cars off the tracks.

Again, there were no dangerous goods spilled. But I have seen trains with well over 100 oil tankers roll through Calgary. During the 2013 flood a CP train carrying petroleum products derailed on a bridge and hung precariously over the surging Bow River.

According to the National Energy Board trains are shipping record amounts of oil. Between December 2017 and December 2018 crude oil exports by rail more than doubled to 353,789 barrels a day — add on domestic shipments and the total is even higher.

And it isn’t about to slow down.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley recently announced her government will spend about $3.7 billion to lease about 4,400 new rail cars to move up to 120,000 barrels per day by 2020, with shipments starting as early as July this year.

Apparently, trains loaded with oil rolling through B.C. isn’t what John Horgan’s government had anticipated when it vowed to use all the tools in its tool box to block the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Because now the B.C. government wants more regulatory control over rail shipments of heavy oil even though rail transportation falls under federal jurisdiction. And it wants to know exactly how much heavy oil is being shipped by rail in B.C.

So far that information has only been made available to federal agencies. B.C. will argue its case before the B.C. Court of Appeal on March 18.

It’s obvious that the B.C. government and its supporters don’t want any bitumen or heavy oils transported through B.C. This is not just about the expansion of one pipeline, it’s about stopping heavy oils, a key resource in Alberta, from being shipped anywhere by any means in B.C.

But now the B.C. government is dealing with the law of unintended consequences.

Holding up the Trans Mountain pipeline has led to more oil trains, and heightened the possibility that one of them could derail and spill barrels of heavy oil.

Horgan is no doubt praying that there will be no derailment of oil cars anywhere in B.C. Because if that happens he will have a lot to answer for.

Crude By Rail, Derailment, Manitoba Canada, Oil trains

Manitoba crude oil train collides with gravel truck – 2nd incident in days

Repost from CBC News

Train carrying oil collides with gravel truck in western Manitoba

RCMP says no spills detected; 2nd incident in days involving train carrying oil through Manitoba
CBC News · 
A CP train carrying petroleum collided with a gravel truck near Westbourne, Man., Tuesday, RCMP said. (Supplied by Greg Perkins)

For the second time in days a train carrying oil through western Manitoba has been involved in an incident.

Just after 2 p.m. CT Tuesday, RCMP said a CP train carrying petroleum struck a gravel truck that was trying to cross the intersection at highways 50 and 16 near Westbourne, about 110 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

“The CP train was carrying petroleum cars at the time but no spill occurred,” RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre said in an email.

The train hit the back end of the truck, causing it to tip over and spill its gravel load. No injuries were reported to RCMP.

Highway 50 was closed for several hours while crews removed the damaged truck and trailer, Manaigre added.

A CP spokesperson said the train was travelling eastbound at the time of the crash.

An investigation is underway.

The crash comes after 37 CN train cars carrying crude oil derailed Saturday near St. Lazare, about 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. The investigation and cleanup effort is ongoing.

A CN train carrying potash also crashed with a semi-trailer this past Friday near Headingley at the western outskirts of Winnipeg. The train didn’t derail in that case.

Alberta Canada, Canadian National Railway, Canadian oil trains, Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian refineries, Crude By Rail, Oil spill, Oil trains, Tar sands crude

Canadian province of Alberta leases 4,400 rail cars – enters crude by rail business

Repost from Reuters

UPDATE 2-Canadian province of Alberta leases 4,400 rail cars to clear oil glut

By Rod Nickel, February 19, 2019 / 12:06 PM

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Canada’s oil-producing province of Alberta has leased 4,400 rail cars in a multibillion-dollar move to clear a glut of crude that depressed prices, Premier Rachel Notley said on Tuesday.

Notley said Alberta would start putting cars into service in July so it can buy and sell oil itself. Canadian National Railway Co and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd will haul a combined initial volume of 20,000 barrels per day that will reach 120,000 bpd by mid-2020.

Alberta’s rail investment is part of a rescue package for an oil industry struggling with high costs and the exit of some foreign majors. Pipelines have become congested because of environmental opposition that has stymied expansion.

The provincial government took the rare step in January of ordering oil production cuts.

“Rather than produce less, we have to find ways to move more,” Notley said in Edmonton.

The three-year plan will cost Alberta C$3.7 billion ($2.80 billion), consisting of buying oil, leasing cars and purchasing rail and loading services. Alberta expects to earn gross revenues of C$5.9 billion ($4.5 billion) from reselling oil and higher royalties to produce net revenues of C$2.2 billion.

Shares of CN and CP gained nearly 1 percent in Toronto. CN expects to handle 60 percent of Alberta’s barrels, Chief Executive J.J. Ruest said in a statement.

The Alberta government said in November, when Canadian oil fetched near record-large discounts to U.S. oil, that it was seeking train capacity. It has also provided incentives for petrochemical and partial-upgrading plants.

Canadian crude-by-rail volumes hit record highs last year, but declined in 2019 after production cuts made rail shipments less economic. Imperial Oil said it was forced to cut its own rail shipments to “near zero,” illustrating the potential for unintended consequences when governments intervene.

Economic conditions were already improving for rail shipments, Notley said.

Rail shipments are seen as a relief valve for oil when pipelines are full, but they are generally more expensive and less safe. A CN oil train derailed on Saturday in Manitoba.

Notley’s New Democratic Party government faces a stiff spring election challenge from the United Conservative Party (UCP). UCP energy critic Prasad Panda said the party was reviewing the rail plan.

Three-quarters of the cars will be the DOT-117J model, featuring thicker steel than some types. The rest will be DOT-117R cars retrofitted to meet some DOT-117J standards, but a type that BNSF Railway Co is phasing out after a derailment in Iowa last year. ($1 = 1.3205 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Peter Cooney)
Crude By Rail, Oil spill, Oil trains

Train carrying oil derails near western Manitoba village

Repost from Trend News Agency

Train carrying oil derails near western Manitoba village

17 February 2019 02:07 (UTC+04:00)

CN Rail is working to clean up an oil leak after nearly 40 train cars carrying crude oil derailed near a village in western Manitoba early Saturday morning, Trend reported citing CBC.

CN crews are responding to the derailment, which occurred at 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning near St. Lazare, about 300 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg near the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border, a spokesperson from the railway said.

“You can smell crude in the air. That’s really concerning,” said rancher Jayme Corr. The derailment happened on his property, about 10 kilometres south of St. Lazare, in the rural municipality of Ellice-Archie.

“There’s oil leaking, and where they’re sitting is [near] a water lagoon,” he said.

Emergency personnel woke Corr up around 5 a.m. Saturday to alert him to the derailment, which happened just under two kilometres from his home.

Initial reports are that approximately 37 crude oil cars have derailed and that there is a partial leak of crude oil, Jonathan Abecassis, a media relations director for CN, wrote in an email to CBC.

“A perimeter has been set up around the area to facilitate site access. There are no reports of injuries or fires,” he wrote.

“CN crews will be conducting a full site assessment to determine how much product has spilled and exactly how many cars are involved. First responders are on location.”

CN’s environmental team has started cleaning up the area.

Corr said his cattle have since been moved away from the area, but he’s concerned that his main water source for the summertime will now be contaminated.

The rancher says he thinks a derailment like Saturday’s has been a long time coming.

“It seems to be the trains go faster, they’re longer, heavier, and the maintenance is getting less and less,” Corr said.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has sent investigators to the site of the derailment.

Jean-Paul Chartier, a rural municipality of Ellice-Archie councillor, said staff from the local fire department are on the scene of the derailment, assisting CN crews.

“They’re trying to do their best to get everything contained, and trying to get the traffic going, and trying to clear whatever debris there is,” Chartier said.

Trains frequently run through St. Lazare, and Chartier said he’s thankful the crash didn’t occur closer to the community. In areas of the village, there are houses just hundreds of metres from the tracks, and 30 to 40 trains can travel past each day, he said.

“Every time they come through, you think of the tragedy that happened in Quebec,” he said, referring to the Lac-Mégantic, Que., rail disaster, which killed 47 people after a freight train loaded with fuel exploded.

“It’s discouraging. Like you look at it everyday and you say ‘hopefully it’s not today and hopefully it doesn’t ever happen.’ But you’ve always got it in the back of your mind.”