More oil available but insufficient pipeline capacity. It costs twice as much to move by rail than by pipeline. US industry is suffering from a rare bout of financial discipline. Restarting the US frackers would cost a lot of cash and they would get hammered if the price normalizes. Then there is the flaring thingy that doesn’t yet have a solution but that has become unacceptable in many places.
Commentary about how well the TSX has done compared to the Tech rich US markets. WTI down over $5 a barrel in pre-market today, WCS up $2.61 AIT. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/
‘Drilling their brains out’: Crude-by-rail key for Canada as oil booms
By Tara Weber
With a ban on Russian oil imports leaving the U.S. short on supply, Canada’s energy heartland is making it clear it’s ready to step up and fill that void.
“We have got to rethink how we get more barrels across the border,” Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said in a phone interview. “[We] can increase supply, and I think the irony of this is when the U.S. loses Russian barrels, they’re looking to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia to replace those barrels and we’re right next door.”
What are the issues with shipping by tanker? One of our local electric plants gets their oil by Liberian and foreign registered tankers. How come Canada doesn’t make use of this mode of transport?
Not Tim, but they have limited pipelines to the coast. Incomprehensible to me that they don’t,but they are working towards completing pipeline capacity to both coasts, I believe.
Venezuela and Saudi Arabia to replace those barrels and we’re right next door.”
And we are back to the differences in the raw crude itself. The big hurdle is “light sweet” crude verses “dirty” crude. An example could be Saudi oil (sweet) vs Alberta Sands (dirty) and what the refineries are already built to handle.
Canada’s answer may be to build a facility to “clean”, remove the contaminants, the oil before trying to export the oil.
Canada’s answer may be to build a facility to “clean”, remove the contaminants, the oil before trying to export the oil.
Or send it to the Gulf Coast where there are refineries designed to handle heavy crude. That is what the Keystone pipeline is currently doing, but since it is at capacity the oil is also shipped by rail. In the Midwest it is not uncommon to see trains of tank cars.
https://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/173539.aspx#:~:text=GATX%2….
GATX, the tank car people, have a system called “TankTrain.” It consists of a series of individual tank cars that are semi-permanently coupled together. At the top of each tank car end, a product flow hose connects one tank car to its adjacent one or ones.
What are the issues with shipping by tanker? One of our local electric plants gets their oil by Liberian and foreign registered tankers. How come Canada doesn’t make use of this mode of transport?
The big issue with shipping oil by tanker from Canada is that the tankers go to the eastern and western bits of the country while the oil is mostly in the middle.
Canadian oil (and gas), in general, is FAR closer to existing pipelines in the US than to anywhere a modern oil tanker can go.
The big issue with shipping oil by tanker from Canada is that the tankers go to the eastern and western bits of the country while the oil is mostly in the middle.
Instead of building dirty pipelines you could build Clean Green Canals (CGC)