Phillips 66’s Sweeny Complex includes refining, midstream and petrochemical units and illustrates how a well-designed facility can deliver operating and financial efficiencies.
RBN blog pages are replete with discussions of the Shale–Rail revolution. We’ve shown how rail has become a formidable competitor to pipeline transportation. Twice as much crude oil moves by rail out of the Bakken versus pipe. Almost 100 new rail terminals will be built during 2012-13. But that’s not the only impact that shale is having. Most of the vast quantities of materials that support shale drilling arrive by rail. Among these are proppants (sand, ceramics), pipe, lubricating chemicals, and water. Today we examine the other end of the shale-rail revolution – the inbound material supply chain.
