Dakota fracked oil said to corrode rail tank cars
WASHINGTON Crude oil shipped by railroad from North Dakota is drawing fresh scrutiny from regulators concerned that the cargo is adding environmental and canada goose outlet factory safety canada goose sale uk hazards, something that analysts say could raise costs.
The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating whether chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing are corroding rail tank cars and increasing risks. Separately, three pipeline companies including Enbridge Inc. warned regulators that North Dakota oil with too much hydrogen sulfide, which is toxic and flammable, was reaching terminals and putting workers at risk.
canada goose outlet store Until last month, safety advocates’ chief worry was spills in derailments. After tank cars blew up July 6 on a train in Quebec, investigators in Canada are considering whether the composition of the crude, which normally doesn’t explode, may have played a role in the accident that killed 47 people. The oil was from North Dakota’s Bakken shale. canada goose outlet store
canada goose outlet sale “Crude historically has not canada goose outlet los angeles been considered in the highest category of hazmat,” said Anthony Hatch, an independent analyst in New York who has tracked railroad companies for almost three canada goose parka outlet decades. “The risks have been considered to be environmental, not to humans. Perhaps Bakken crude should be considered in a higher category.” canada goose outlet sale
canada goose factory outlet The cost of added safety measures, such as tighter rail car specifications that would make obsolete some current models, may canada goose outlet miami become an issue if oil prices fall, according to Kevin Book, managing director canada goose outlet paypal at ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington based policy analysis firm. canada goose factory outlet
canada goose jacket outlet “The solution to rail safety issues looks like unanticipated costs, whether, it be rail car investments or new safety protocols,” Book said in an email. canada canada goose outlet authentic goose jacket outlet
Such costs are less likely to slow production when is oil trading for $100 or more per barrel, Book said. canada goose premium outlet “At $75 per barrel, it could be a big deal,” he said. Crude oil futures have traded higher than $100 a barrel since July, and are more than $90 a barrel since late April.
canada goose outlet North Dakota is the nation’s second biggest oil producing canada goose outlet washington dc state, with more than 790,000 barrels a day this year up from from about 150,000 barrels in 2008. Railroads move 75 percent of the state’s crude, including the load of more than 70 cars that derailed and exploded canada goose outlet 80 off last month in Lac Megantic, Quebec. canada goose outlet
canada goose outlet parka Canadian regulators are testing the composition of crude from the wrecked Montreal Maine and Atlantic Railway Ltd. freight train. A question they say they’re asking is why the derailment led to such an intense inferno, which regulators have called “abnormal.” They visited North Dakota as part of their review, said Chris Krepski, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety canada goose outlet online reviews Board of Canada. canada goose outlet parka
official canada goose outlet “We did take samples from the tank cars to get a better understanding of what was actually carried in them and verifying that against the shipping documents,” Krepski said. “It’s safe to say we’re looking at everything.” official canada goose outlet
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Much of North Dakota’s production relies on hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a technique in which millions of gallons of chemically treated water and sand are forced underground to shatter rock and free trapped oil. Highly corrosive hydrochloric acid is widely used to extract oil in the state, according to a 2011 report from the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
canada goose outlet nyc In a July 29 letter to the American Petroleum Institute, a Washington based lobbying and standards setting group for the oil canada goose outlet store new york and gas industry, the railway administration said it found increasing cases of damage to tanker cars’ interior surfaces. canada goose outlet online uk A possible cause is contamination of crude by materials used in fracking, according to the letter. canada goose outlet nyc
canada goose outlet shop “If the hydrochloric acid is carried with the oil into rail cars, corrosion can be an issue,” Andy Lipow, president of Houston based Lipow Oil Associates, canada goose parka outlet uk said in an email. canada goose outlet shop
canada goose outlet new york city Shippers need to know the properties of the oil to ensure that it’s transported in tankers equipped to handle the cargo, according to the rail agency’s letter. Because information provided to railroads on the properties of oil is canada goose discount uk not gathered canada goose outlet in montreal from tests, the agency said it “can only speculate” as to the number of cars in violation of hazardous materials regulations. canada goose outlet new york city
canada goose outlet jackets Investigating whether the chemical composition of Bakken oil makes it more likely to corrode tank cars is reasonable, said Peter Goelz, a former National Transportation Safety Board managing director who’s now a senior vice president with O’Neill and Associates in Washington. canada goose outlet jackets
canada goose canada goose outlet winnipeg outlet in usa The Quebec canada goose outlet orlando accident also revived a debate over the type of cars used to haul oil. For years, regulators and watchdogs have sought improvements to a common car design shown to be susceptible to rupture when derailed. The NTSB estimates that 69 official canada goose outlet percent of today’s rail tank car fleet has “a high incidence of tank failure during accidents,” Chairman Deborah Hersman wrote in letter last year. The agency recommended thicker shells and other modifications to strengthen the cars. canada goose outlet in usa
canada goose outlet canada Sen. regulators to phase out the older cars, known as DOT 111s, saying they’ve contributed to spills of hazardous materials. canada goose outlet canada
canada goose outlet uk “The DOT 111 tank car has proven particularly prone to spills, tears and fires in the canada goose outlet store quebec event of a derailment, and it’s simply unacceptable for New York’s communities along the rail lines to face that risk when we know thicker, tougher cars could keep us safer,” Schumer said in an emailed statement. canada goose outlet uk
canada goose outlet uk sale The rail industry is fighting a proposal to retrofit existing cars, saying it could cost as much as $1 billion. canada goose outlet uk sale
canada goose outlet reviews Shippers also must account for hydrogen sulfide, a highly flammable toxic gas that at some canada goose outlet store toronto wells is a byproduct of oil, to properly canada goose outlet toronto classify oil for transport. canada goose outlet reviews
canada goose outlet online “You see little blender facilities popping up all over the place along pipelines and rails,” Harju said in an interview. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. canada goose outlet online
canada goose outlet online uk “We did discover that some of the crude coming into the system had much higher levels of hydrogen sulfide than we felt was safe for our employees,” Katie Haarsager, an Enbridge spokeswoman, said in an interview. “Some canada goose outlet eu blending may not have been up to levels in the past.” canada goose outlet online uk
Enbridge won FERC’s permission to refuse delivery of any oil with hydrogen sulfide that exceeded 5 parts per million, half the minimum exposure recommended by federal regulators. In a May 5 test, Calgary based Enbridge, which owns and operates a 970 mile canada goose outlet toronto factory pipeline from Plentywood, Mont., to Clearbrook, Minn., found levels as high as 1,200 parts per million at its Berthold terminal “that could cause death, or serious injuries,” according to the company’s FERC filing.
canada goose outlet store uk Two other pipeline operators, Tesoro Corp. and the closely held True companies, which operates the Belle Fourche and Bridger pipelines in North Dakota, also found high levels of hydrogen sulfide in crude shipments. The FERC approved Tesoro’s request to reject oil with hydrogen sulfide at goose outlet canada more than 5 parts per million effective Jan. 1. True companies was allowed to turn away canada goose outlet 2015 crude with more than 10 parts per canada goose outlet store uk million of hydrogen sulfide effective April 1. canada goose outlet store uk
canada goose black friday sale True, based in Casper, Wyo., sent a notice to its Belle Fourche and Bridger customers in January warning that high levels of hydrogen sulfide “materially affected the common stream and created safety hazards at certain delivery locations.” canada goose black friday sale
canada goose outlet black friday North Dakota regulators say hydrogen sulfide is prevalent in oil wells in some areas and field inspectors are required to carry hydrogen sulfide monitors. canada goose Canada Goose Outlet outlet black friday
goose outlet canada “The fact that there were explosions, and crude oil is not supposed to explode, raises a lot of suspicions as to whether there were other chemicals and so on added to oil in the https://www.officialcanadagoosesoutlet.ca process before the shipment,” Edward Burkhardt, chief executive officer of Rail World Inc., which owns the Montreal and Maine railway, said in an interview goose outlet canada.
