Western Railroad Discussion > Alberta PM: we can send you 266 tank cars of crude oil daily...

Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta, has said his province is prepared to ramp up shipments of crude oil to the US. While no new pipelines are envisioned, Mr Kenney's plan calls for retention of the Enbridge line 5, which Michigan is trying to shut down. The leader also said that he is prepared to send 200,000 barrels of oil daily by rail.  That works out to 266 tank cars, nearly three unit train loads daily at 750 barrels per car.  More cars if the tank capacity is smaller than 750.

Bloomberg reports that there's about 300,000 barrels of unused pipeline capacity in the US. Do Canadian National and Canadian Pacific have enough rail capacity to move 3 unit trains south, and three more north every day?

The more important question is where this crude oil will go for refining and if they have the capacity.

If it is CP to Chicago, it seems like they do. Traffic seems down from what it was in the past. CN is busier.

A lot depends on what kind of oil it is. Heavy, light? Most refineries can't handle more then one kind of oil.

I’ve heard some reporting to the effect most refineries in the US are specifically tooled to process crude from the middle east and is not really capable of handling a lot of domestic production.

Jeff Moore
Elko, Nv

Posted from iPhone

Doesn't Edmonton have a large refinery just north of town.

Only 266 cars a day? They'll have to save up a few days worth to make running a train worthwhile.

TAW

PHall Wrote:
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> A lot depends on what kind of oil it is. Heavy,
> light? Most refineries can't handle more then one
> kind of oil.

Most Gulf Coast refineries can.  That's why most of the heavy and ulta heavy stuff gets sent down there.  CP and KCS already do this, up to 2 loads per day.


Allen

DevalDragon Wrote:
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> The more important question is where this crude
> oil will go for refining and if they have the
> capacity.

Depends on the refiner and what grade crude oil it is.  While Alberta is known for ulta heavy crude (tar sands) they also ship out lighter grades (light-medium and medium).

Allen
 

TAW Wrote:
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> Only 266 cars a day? They'll have to save up a few
> days worth to make running a train worthwhile.
>
> TAW

As long as no stockholders get hurt.

Posted from Android

cnr6776 Wrote:
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> TAW Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Only 266 cars a day? They'll have to save up a
> few
> > days worth to make running a train worthwhile.
> >
> > TAW
>
> As long as no stockholders get hurt.
>
> Posted from Android

But of course.

Posted from iPhone