Plains Pipeline Cited in Santa Barbara Spill
Numerous lapses in safety measures, judgment and planning by Plains All American Pipeline LP led to and worsened a major oil spill last year that fouled miles of shoreline and ocean near Santa Barbara, California, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Thursday. The agency said it would focus next on "enforcement options" against the Houston-based company for the rupture of an underground petroleum pipeline that federal inspectors have found was severely worn by corrosion. In their final report on the spill, federal investigators concluded that Plains "failed on multiple levels to prevent…
Feds Asked to Inspect Offshore SoCal Pipelines
An environmental group petitioned the federal government on Thursday to immediately inspect more than 200 miles of undersea oil pipelines off California's coast. The Center for Biological Diversity cited extensive corrosion that is believed to have caused an onshore pipeline to burst in May west of Santa Barbara, unleashing the biggest oil spill to hit that region in more than four decades. The failed pipeline, which had been inspected by its owner, Texas-based Plains All American Pipeline, weeks before the rupture, is decades younger than much of California's offshore infrastructure, the group said in its petition.
SoCal Beach Cleanup Could Take Months
The U.S. Coast Guard captain overseeing cleanup of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture that closed two California state beaches and fouled offshore waters near Santa Barbara said on Thursday it may take months to restore the area to its natural condition. Up to 2,500 barrels (105,000 gallons) of crude petroleum, according to latest estimates, gushed onto San Refugio State Beach and into the Pacific about 20 miles (32 km) west of Santa Barbara on Tuesday when an underground pipeline that runs along the coastal highway burst.
US Safety Watchdog's Oil Train Plan 'Infeasible' -Refiners
The leading voice for the refining sector on Thursday said it was not realistic for U.S. regulators to expect existing oil train tankers to be retired within five years, and sought a meeting with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). "The emphasis on tank car modifications through an overly aggressive and infeasible retrofit schedule creates the incorrect perception that tanks car improvements are the magic remedy," Charles Drevna, the president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers wrote. On Friday, the U.S. Transportation Department and Transport Canada are expected to outline a cross-border oil train safety plan.
U.S Readies Emergency Oil Train Safety Measures
The U.S. Transportation Department is completing work on a package of measures to control oil train dangers before the Obama administration finalizes a national safety plan expected by May, an official with knowledge of the plans said on Thursday. The measures, which could include emergency orders, safety advisories, or other controls, should be in force within days, said the source who was not authorized to discuss the plans. "The Transportation Department will not wait to take action on measures that could improve safety immediately," the source told Reuters.
Canada Unable to Agree with U.S. on Rail Car Brakes
Canada was unable to reach agreement with the United States on whether to require advanced braking systems in new oil tank cars, so the requirement was dropped from a draft of new Canadian tank-car standards, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said. The proposed standards, published on Wednesday, did not include a requirement for electronically controlled pneumatic brakes, but the draft said braking requirements would be included in new operating rules. The United States is expected to release its own standards, but the two countries have been working to harmonize requirements so they are likely to be very similar.
CSX Train Hauling North Dakota Crude Derails
A CSX Corp train hauling North Dakota crude derailed in West Virginia on Monday, setting a number of cars ablaze, destroying a house and forcing the evacuation of two towns in the second significant oil-train incident in three days. One or two of the cars plunged into the Kanawha River, said Robert Jelacic of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. CSX said the train was hauling 109 cars from North Dakota to the coastal town of Yorktown, Virginia, where midstream firm Plains All American Pipelines runs an oil depot. It said one person was being treated for potential inhalation of fumes.
US Oil Train Safety Proposal Due in May
The U.S. Transportation Department will offer a new design for oil trains by mid-May as officials try to make sure crude oil is moving safely on the tracks, officials said this week. The next-generation tanker will have a thicker shell, more heat protection and other safety features meant to prevent future mishaps from becoming fiery derailments. Details have not been finalized. "These new requirements are designed to lessen the consequences of derailments involving ethanol, crude oil, and certain trains transporting a large volume of flammable materials," the Transportation Department said in a memo this week outlining future regulatory actions.
MARAD Considers Deepwater O&G Exports
A U.S. agency is considering how the country could export crude oil and natural gas from deepwater ports as the domestic drilling boom adds pressure for Washington to relax trade restrictions and approve shipments of fuel. The U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, is seeking comment on a proposed policy to evaluate applications for building and operating offshore deepwater ports for exporting U.S. oil and natural gas. The agency, part of the U.S. Transportation Department, quietly issued a notice in the Federal Register in October about the rule that received little attention. Congress has banned most U.S.
API Issues Guidelines for Crude by Rail
The American Petroleum Institute on Thursday issued guidelines for moving crude oil by rail, the latest response to a string of fiery derailments in the United States and Canada that has raised calls for reform. The guidelines from the industry group include procedures for sampling and testing crude oil before transport, criteria on how often to test samples and document the results, and procedures to prevent overfilling crude oil in rail tank cars. API President Jack Gerard said in a release that the guidelines represented cooperation between the energy and rail industries and the U.S.
Rail Oil Tankers, Victim of US Safety Rules, Also Unwanted in Canada
Thousands of oil train tankers soon to be deemed obsolete in the United States are unlikely get a second life in Canada's oil sands industry, undercutting a U.S. government forecast that the costly cars will continue in use in the energy sector. If thousands of obsolete tank cars are scrapped, it could add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of the proposal, industry officials said - unwelcome news for regulators trying to craft a safety plan that does not add crippling costs to industry. Regulators on both sides of the border are contemplating rules to prevent oil train accidents like the July 2013 Lac Megantic disaster in Quebec…
