Officials Call for More Regulations to Prevent Crude Train Accidents
“There is growing concern that some oil shipments are improperly classified under federal hazardous material standards, leaving rail companies and emergency responders with incomplete information about what is being shipped through communities,” Wyden noted.
Wyden also called for the evaluation and update of safety requirements to adequately address crude transportation risks, and encouraged DOT to finalize rules for implementing the rail risk reduction program signed into law six years ago.
In November, PHMSA and the FRA issued a safety advisory to stress the importance of classifying and describing hazardous materials being transported. PHMSA advised the appropriate classification and packing group (PG) assignment of oil shipments, whether the shipment is in a cargo tank, rail tank car or other form of transportation. Proper characterization involves identifying properties that could affect the packing’s integrity or pose additional hazards, such as corrosivity, sulfur content and dissolved gas content.
PHMSA in the Jan. 2 notice also reminded emergency responders that light sweet crude such as Bakken crude is typically assigned a packing group of I or II. The PGs mean that the materials’ flashpoint is below 73 degrees Fahrenheit and, for PG I materials, the boiling point is below 75 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning they pose significant fire risk if accidentally released.
Issues with Rail Safety
Moving crude by rail actually predates pipelines, which only became commonplace in the second half of the 20th century, RBN Energy said in a Jan. 8 report. However, the surge in production of Bakken unconventional crude in North Dakota, where railway infrastructure is more readily available versus pipelines, means that Bakken crude is being shipped to refineries mostly by rail.
The growing adoption of crude-by-rail transportation since 2012 means that more than 740,000 barrels of oil per day, or 11 percent of total U.S. output, was being moved by rail by the end of last year, RBN noted. Approximately 171 North American rail loading and offloading terminals have been built since 2011 or are under development. A number of refiners such as Valero and Phillips 66 have rail facilities at their plants.
DOT-111 tank cars, non-pressurized tank cars designed to carry a variety of commodities, including hazardous materials and non-hazardous materials such as corn syrup, make up the core of the North American rail tank car fleet. Approximately one third of the DOT-111 tank car fleet, which numbers 272,119, are dedicated to servicing flammable liquid commodities.
12345678
View Full Article
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- Falcon Oil Declares Commercial Flow Test Results for Shenandoah Well
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- Macquarie Strategists Expect Brent Oil Price to Grind Higher
- UK Oil Regulator Publishes New Emissions Reduction Plan
- PetroChina Posts Higher Annual Profit on Higher Production
- Pennsylvania County Joins List of Local Govts Suing Big Oil over Climate
- McDermott Settles Reficar Dispute
- US, SKorea Launch Task Force to Stop Illicit Refined Oil Flows into NKorea
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Increase
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Standard Chartered Reiterates $94 Brent Call
- India Halts Russia Oil Supplies From Sanctioned Tanker Giant
- DOI Announces Proposal for Second GOM Offshore Wind Auction
- Centcom, Dryad Outline Recent Moves Around Red Sea Region
- PetroChina Set to Receive Venezuelan Oil
- Czech Conglomerate to Buy Major Stake in Gasnet for $917MM
- US DOE Offers $44MM in Funding to Boost Clean Power Distribution
- Oil Settles Lower as Stronger Dollar Offsets Tighter Market
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea