Bakken oil’s path revealed: Crude on freight trains passes through 11 eastern Nebraska counties

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/money/bakken-oil-s-path-revealed-crude-on-freight-trains-passes/article_ba73c324-48e3-11e4-b2fb-0017a43b2370.html




THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A long line of rail cars containing oil sit on tracks south of Seattle on Sept. 16. Nebraska officials said Tuesday that an average of three freight trains per week carrying more than 1 million gallons of Bakken crude oil have passed through 11 eastern Nebraska counties.


POSTED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014 1:30 AM
By Russell Hubbard / World-Herald staff writer

An average of three freight trains per week, each carrying at least 1 million gallons of Bakken crude oil, passed through 11 eastern Nebraska counties during one recent reporting period, Nebraska officials said Tuesday.

The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency released the information on crude-by-rail without further comment, after Gov. Dave Heineman said Monday the details would be forthcoming. The agency had not previously released the information about the rail transport of combustible crude oil, citing security concerns and the protection of railroad trade data.



The Nebraska counties through which the crude rolls are Dakota, Thurston, Burt, Dodge, Saunders, Cass, Lancaster, Gage, Johnson, Pawnee and Richardson, according to documents released by the state agency. The rail route shown corresponds to that operated by BNSF Railway, based in Fort Worth, Texas, and owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. of Omaha.

Crude-by-rail became an issue only in recent years, after shipments skyrocketed upon production of hard-to-get North Dakota and Canadian reserves. Subjecting rock formations to high hydraulic pressures, chemical injection and horizontal drilling enabled oil producers to tap such formations profitably, leading to a transportation gap that was filled by railroads, principally BNSF.

FULL story at link.