Unloading Terminals

Canadian producers trying to get their crude to market have come under pressure from two directions at once. US regulators have extended the deadline to make a decision on the Keystone pipeline that would relieve ongoing pipeline congestion out of Western Canada. Canadian regulators have increased pressure on crude by rail development plans, designed to bypass pipelines, by implementing new standards for rail tank cars. With no other apparent alternatives and despite some delays, rail terminal development plans in Canada are proceeding. Today we detail the progress of rail unloading terminals that can handle heavy Canadian crude at the US Gulf Coast.

Seems like every other week a new loading or unloading terminal project is being announced to move Western Canadian heavy crude by rail to somewhere on the Gulf Coast. If they all get built there will be at least seven unit train load terminals operating in Alberta by 2016 with over 550 Mb/d capacity. Six unit train terminals are planned or being built to unload Canadian heavy crude to deliver to Mississippi Gulf Coast refineries (~400 Mb/d unload capacity) and three unit train terminals (~350 Mb/d) are operating or being built to deliver to Texas Gulf Coast refineries that will handle Canadian crude. Today we survey unloading terminals on the Gulf outside the CN direct network.

During the past two years the US domestic crude transportation business has been revitalized by a huge increase in shipments of crude oil by rail. In the Bakken region alone over 600 Mb/d of crude is shipped to market by rail. The number of rail terminals in producing regions loading crude oil onto rail tank cars has increased from a handful at the end of 2011 to 88 and growing today. A further 66 crude oil unloading terminals have been built or are under construction. Today we summarize the crude oil terminal build out by region and by railroad.