Pucks and Pellets: Canada Eyes New Ways to Move Crude
Canada's biggest railroad says it is attracting interest from oil producers in its effort to move crude in solid, puck-like form, as clogged pipelines divert more oil to riskier rail transport.Congested pipelines have stranded much of Canada's crude in Alberta, driving discounts to record-high levels. Canadian heavy crude traded on Friday for less than one-third of the U.S. benchmark light oil price.The latest blow to the sector landed on Thursday, when a U.S.
Canadian Railways in 'catch-22' over Crude Shipments
Canadian railway operators see a lucrative opportunity to transport more crude oil to the United States as a rise in output force producers to find new routes to its southern neighbor. However, their need for long-term contracts and the pressure to move a surplus of grains in the country is making it hard to cash-in on the prospect. Canada moves about 95 percent of its oil by pipelines, which are currently full.
Canada Oil Producers Fill Pipelines, Railroads
Canadian oil producers are running out of options to get crude to market as pipeline and rail capacity fills up, driving prices to four-year lows and increasing the risk of firms having to sell cheaply until at least late 2019. This will drive down the profit margins for the oil sands industry, already struggling to compete with cheaper and abundant supplies from U.S. shale. A number of foreign oil majors have left Canada's oil sands to invest in more profitable U.S.
Canadian Pacific Profit Misses on Delayed Grain Harvest
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd reported lower-than-expected quarterly results and cut its full-year earnings forecast, due mainly to a delayed grain harvest and lower crude oil volumes. The company said it now expects 2016 profit to grow in the mid-single-digits, compared to the double-digit growth it had expected in June. U.S.-listed shares of the company were down 2.9 percent at $148.91 in light premarket trading.
Canadian Profits Impacted by Oil Price
The oil price rout and related Canadian dollar slide that is ravaging the country's economy is starting to take its toll on corporate profits, from rail and retail to seemingly unrelated sectors like telecoms. "The direct impact from the energy sector alone is going to be significant," said Macquarie analyst David Doyle. Thomson Reuters SmartEstimates data project that earnings per share…
TSX Jumps With Oil, Closes 2.6 % Higher
Canada's main stock index scored its biggest rally in more than four years on Friday, led by oil and gas stocks as crude prices surged and investors welcomed hints of more stimulus from global central banks. Sharp gains on Thursday and Friday left the index 2.6 percent higher for the week, supported by a recovery in crude oil prices and optimism that central banks in Europe and Japan will increase policy stimulus.
TSX Rises as Railways, Pipelines Gain
Canada's main stock index rose on Wednesday, led by railway and pipeline stocks in a broad-based but relatively shallow recovery from Tuesday's slip. The most influential gainer on the index was Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, which rose 5.5 percent to C$194.88 after the company made public a proposal to buy Norfolk Southern that it said could help it save $1.8 billion. Its rival, Canadian National Railway Co advanced 1.7 percent to C$78.32.
New DOT Brake Rule Angers Rail Industry
U.S. regulators took on the powerful rail industry on Friday, announcing plans to require expensive, high-tech braking technology the railways insist is unproven and unreliable. Regulators say the new electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes could reduce the severity of crashes, preventing pile-ups. Canada has promised to "harmonize" its regulations with the United States. The U.S. rule goes into effect in 2021 and only applies to trains with 70 or more tank cars.
Iowa Rail Line Reopens Following Derailment
A rail line in eastern Iowa reopened on Saturday following a freight train derailment that sent three cars tumbling into the Mississippi River, spilling ethanol fuel in the water, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) said. Thirteen cars and two engines went off the tracks after the derailment on Wednesday in a remote location north of Dubuque, Iowa, the company said. Three of the cars that derailed caught fire, but there were no injuries.
Plains 70 mbpd Saskatchewan Terminal Nearing Completion
Plains Midstream Canada, a subsidiary of Plains All American Pipeline, has started looking for workers at its new crude-by-rail unit train terminal in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, due to start up mid-2015, according to the company website. Plains, which also operates an approximately one million-barrel storage facility in Kerrobert, is looking to hire workers including instrumentation technicians, rail engineers, loaders and supervisors for the $140 million facility.
Why a Small North Dakota Town is Taking on Big Rail
After her shift at the TraXside Cafe in the southeast North Dakota hamlet of Enderlin, all Karla Souer wants to do is go home. Unfortunately for the 38-year-old waitress the commute, which should only last a minute or two, can take a half-an-hour. That's because, chances are, there's a Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd train blocking the tracks somewhere on her route. She has a lot of company.
Dakota Plains to Link Hiland Pipeline to its Rail Terminal
Oil transportation company Dakota Plains Holdings Inc said it would link its Pioneer Rail Terminal in North Dakota to Hiland Partners LP's pipeline carrying crude out of the Bakken shale formation. Oil by rail has surged in recent years as a production boom in North Dakota outpaced pipeline capacity. The connection to the Pioneer Terminal is expected to have an initial capacity of more than 15…
Canexus Pays Price in Canadian Crude-by-Rail Boom
Canexus Corp, the developer of Canada's first dedicated oil train terminal, has embraced the crude-by-rail boom with little success so far. Its shares are down 45 percent over the past year and the company is expected to report a weak quarter on Tuesday. The company's Bruderheim terminal, 55 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, is one of seven unit train terminals operating or under construction in Western Canada.
Dozens of Trains Haul Volatile Bakken Crude Weekly
As many as 44 trains loaded with volatile Bakken crude oil are being sent through the state of New York each week, according to confidential disclosures made by railroads to state emergency responders, and released to Reuters through a Freedom of Information Law request. The disclosures come as New York and other states grapple with health and safety risks posed by a recent surge in oil-by-rail cargoes…
Train Believed to be Carrying Propane Derails in Eastern Canada
A train believed to be carrying propane has derailed in the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia, but the containers are not leaking, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on Monday. Two people were aboard the train and no injuries have been reported, said Corporal Scott MacRae. It was unclear which company was operating the train or how many cars were involved in the accident. "Some containers are on their side and are believed to contain propane.
Oil Traffic may Delay US Fertilizer Shipments
Increasing use of railroads to ship crude oil could disrupt fertilizer cargo this spring as Midwest farmers prepare for planting, U.S. agriculture leaders warn, even as one railroad said on Monday it will take steps to ensure timely deliveries. The planting season is nearly at hand in states such as the Dakotas and Minnesota, where soybean, wheat and corn growers will lay millions of tonnes of fertilizers like nitrogen and potash that mostly arrive by train.
