USD Partners

More new crude oil storage capacity came online in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 than in any half-year period in memory, and still more capacity is being planned. Even with all this new capacity—and the slowdown in crude oil production—the storage utilization rates at Midwest/Mid-continent and Gulf Coast tank farms, underground salt caverns and refineries are at or near record highs too. And tens of millions more barrels of storage capacity are on the drawing boards in anticipation of further incremental needs. But the energy sector is pulling back, right? What gives? Today, we begin an update on crude storage trends and crude storage facilities in Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADDs) 2 and 3, which together account for 82% of U.S. crude storage capacity.

A recent SEC filing to register a proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) for their Master Limited Partnership (MLP) by terminal operator USD Group - whose principal asset is a unit train crude loading terminal in Hardisty, Alberta - reveals long-term commitments to rail by Canadian shippers. That development reflects frustration with continued delays to the expansion of congested pipeline capacity out of Western Canada but also indicates a new maturity in crude-by-rail transport. Today we discuss crude-by-rail’s coming of age in Canada.