Train Carrying Oil Derails and Explodes

Daily Mail ^ | 6 July 2013 | Jessica Jerreat

[fella]

The center of a Quebec town has been wiped out, according to the mayor, after a freight train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in a fireball at 1am on Saturday. About 30 buildings were destroyed and 60 people are believed to be missing, but the force of the fire has prevented rescue workers from searching for survivors. Parts of the town were . . .

[Paladin2]

[Paladin2]

https://twitter.com/MrHuchette/status/353555167897071617/photo/1

[Paladin2]

[Tucker39]

You’re entitled to your opinion,
I smelled a rat when I read that the crude oil EXPLODED. Crude oil, of its own volition, doesn’t explode. It takes the introduction of a source of ignition.

[kanawa]

They also say...

“the railway company’s vice-president Joseph McGonigle said.

‘We’re not sure what happened, but the engineer did everything by the book. He had parked the train and was waiting for his relief,’ “

They may want to rewrite the book.

[NautiNurse]

We’re not sure what happened, but the engineer did everything by the book. He had parked the train and was waiting for his relief

The book sounds like a union labor manual. You must not exceed work time or effort outlined in labor agreement. Wouldn't be prudent.

[Smokin' Joe]

Interesting, it doesn't take much reading between the lines to see the environmental opposition is being used to keep the Keystone pipe line and Canadian tar sands oil out of our markets in favor of domestically produced shale oil and railroads.

Keep reading between those lines. Eastern refineries have traditionally unloaded oil from tankers, because there were few crude oil pipelines to their locations. Now, trainloads of light, sweet crude are going to those refineries rather than tankerloads, and that is the reason the split in price between Brent crude and WTI has gone from over 20 dollars to less than ten. Our oil is competing with imports because it can get to the refineries by rail.

[Candor7]

OMG! The Amish or FLQ are BACK!/s

[Red Dog #1]

I've seen others stories also talking about rails flexibility. So, do you thing cronyism and rails flexibility are both occurring?

[Smokin' Joe]

Buffett is a shrewd investor. The Bakken/Three Forks oil was selling at the same price as WTI before the boom, but with an increase of half a million barrels of oil production from the Bakken/Three Forks per day, the lack of pipeline capacity had the price of the light sweet crude discounted by $30 dollars per barrel or more.

Buffett saw (as did others) an opportunity to make money. Ship the oil by rail to refineries which were paying Brent rates for imported oil ($20 above WTI), buy Bakken oil cheaper--or better yet own a chunk of the major rail lines through the region--and the refineries get oil a little cheaper, producers get more for their product, and the shippers and brokers make money in the middle--all without raising any prices overall.

The Keystone XL will still take the heavy Athabascan 'Tar Sands' crude south to refineries which were refining the oil from Venezuela, the trains take oil to refineries which were refining arab light and Brent.

So, who wins?

Oil producers.

Oil service companies, and those others in producing regions (of the US)

The eastern refineries, and some out west, too (happening/developing).

The US (lower trade deficit for oil).

The railroads, of which BNSF is a primary carrier.

Those locals who spent the money to develop railcar loading facilities for oil.

Buffett just bought stock in one of the companies key to making the whole thing happen.