Posted on 02/05/2014 4:32:42 AM PST by thackney
Government investigators have found crude oil being transported from North Dakota’s Bakken region was misclassified in samples taken from 11 out of 18 truck shipments en route to rail loading stations, federal transportation officials said Tuesday.
Hazardous materials shipments are supposed to be classified into one of nine categories depending on the risk involved. If the materials are misclassified, they could wind up being shipped in less protective rail tank cars and emergency personnel might follow the wrong protocols when responding to a spill.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said it has proposed fining three companies involved in the shipments — Hess Corp., Whiting Oil and Gas Corp., and Marathon Oil Co. — a total of $93,000.
“The fines we are proposing today should send a message to everyone involved in the shipment of crude oil: You must test and classify this material properly if you want to use our transportation system to ship it,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at fuelfix.com ...
The following is from:
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Safety Alert -- January 2, 2014
http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/DownloadableFiles/1_2_14%20Rail_Safety_Alert.pdf
Preliminary Guidance from OPERATION CLASSIFICATION
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is issuing this safety alert to notify the general public, emergency responders and shippers and carriers that recent derailments and resulting fires indicate that the type of crude oil being transported from the Bakken region may be more flammable than traditional heavy crude oil.
Based upon preliminary inspections conducted after recent rail derailments in North Dakota, Alabama and Lac-Megantic, Quebec involving Bakken crude oil, PHMSA is reinforcing the requirement to properly test, characterize, classify, and where appropriate sufficiently degasify hazardous materials prior to and during transportation. This advisory is a follow-up to the PHMSA and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) joint safety advisory published November 20, 2013 [78 FR 69745]. As stated in the November Safety Advisory, it is imperative that offerors properly classify and describe hazardous materials being offered for transportation. 49 CFR 173.22. As part of this process, offerors must ensure that all potential hazards of the materials are properly characterized.
Proper characterization will identify properties that could affect the integrity of the packaging or present additional hazards, such as corrosivity, sulfur content, and dissolved gas content. These characteristics may also affect classification. PHMSA stresses to offerors the importance of appropriate classification and packing group (PG) assignment of crude oil shipments, whether the shipment is in a cargo tank, rail tank car or other mode of transportation. Emergency responders should remember that light sweet crude oil, such as that coming from the Bakken region, is typically assigned a packing group I or II. The PGs mean that the material’s flashpoint is below 73 degrees Fahrenheit and, for packing group I materials, the boiling point is below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. This means the materials pose significant fire risk if released from the package in an accident.
As part of ongoing investigative efforts, PHMSA and FRA initiated “Operation Classification,” a compliance initiative involving unannounced inspections and testing of crude oil samples to verify that offerors of the materials have been properly classified and describe the hazardous materials. Preliminary testing has focused on the classification and packing group assignments that have been selected and certified by offerors of crude oil. These tests measure some of the inherent chemical properties of the crude oil collected. Nonetheless, the agencies have found it necessary to expand the scope of their testing to measure other factors that would affect the proper characterization and classification of the materials. PHMSA expects to have final test results in the near future for the gas content, corrosivity, toxicity, flammability and certain other characteristics of the Bakken crude oil, which should more clearly inform the proper characterization of the material.
“Operation Classification” will be an ongoing effort, and PHMSA will continue to collect samples and measure the characteristics of Bakken crude as well as oil from other locations.
Based on initial field observations, PHMSA expanded the scope of lab testing to include other factors that affect proper characterization and classification such as Reid Vapor Pressure, corrosivity, hydrogen sulfide content and composition/concentration of the entrained gases in the material. The results of this expanded testing will further inform shippers and carriers about how to ensure that the materials are known and are properly described, classified, and characterized when being shipped. In addition, understanding any unique hazards of the materials will enable offerors, carriers, first responders, as well as PHMSA and FRA to identify any appropriate mitigating measures that need to be taken to ensure the continued safe transportation of these materials.
PHMSA will share the results of these additional tests with interested parties as they become available. PHMSA also reminds offerors that the hazardous materials regulations require offerors of hazardous materials to properly classify and describe the hazardous materials being offered for transportation. 49 CFR 173.22. Accordingly, offerors should not delay completing their own tests while PHMSA collects additional information.
For additional information regarding this safety alert, please contact Rick Raksnis, PHMSA Field Services Division, (202) 366-4455 or E-mail: Richard.Raksnis@dot.gov. For general information and assistance regarding the safe transport of hazardous materials, contact PHMSA’s Information Center at 1-800-467-4922 or phmsa.hm-infocenter@dot.gov.
So, it’s higher quality crude than they thought? Sweet!
(pun intended)
So the government owns the railroads now?
“...recently tested oil was classified as packing group II
when it should have been packing group I.
...other truckloads were classified as packing group III
when it should have been packing group II
Regulations require shippers to have a security plan in place
for packing groups I and II, but not for packing group III...”
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Some of my work involves DOT haz-mat shipping and shipping papers.
It is not clear to me how any of the reclassification would have
prevented or mitigated any of the accidents referred to in the article.
The requirement to “have a security plan” certainly would not.
For emergency responders, yes, knowing what you are having to deal with
is extremely important, but, as far as I can tell,
the emergency response to a spill of crude oil is not going to change
based on if the shipping papers classify it as class I, II, or III.
They would approach them all with the same procedures.
“may be more flammable than traditional heavy crude oil”.
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It is traditional heavy crude oil.
This is government showing its regulatory, partisan side.
Government really, really needs to stand down.
It appears from the article it may impact tank design choices for loading/transporting.
It also might convince responders to not fight the direct fire but keep more distance for greater fear of explosions and just keep it from spreading.
I know the propane storage fire codes spend significant guidelines on when NOT to fight a fire and how close you should be compared to the potential fireball diameter.
So are these companies transporting thier own oil? Mine is sold to either Navajo or Pecos at the battery and it’s tested by them before it ever gets loaded. Once it’s in their truck it’s their resposibility, now if the producer is transporting their own then thats a different story but not something that I’ve ever seen around here.
No. Bakken oil is light crude. And like all light crudes, it is more explosive than heavy crudes. So the comparison is meaningless.
http://www.ndoil.org/oil_can_2/faq/faq_results/?offset=5&advancedmode=1&category=Bakken%20Basics
Question
What is the API gravity of Bakken crude oil? Explain its relative quality.
Answer
Bakken crude oil gravity ranges from 36 to 44 degrees API. The quality of this oil is excellent, almost identical to WTI. The benchmark crude oil is West Texas Intermediate, which is 40 degrees API sweet crude. It is the benchmark because it requires the least amount of processing in a modern refinery to make the most valuable products, unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel.
Thought you’d want to see this. Better oil then expected?
Hess Corp., Whiting Oil and Gas Corp., and Marathon Oil Co.
I think all of those companies would buy oil from smaller independent producers.
Oh.
Sorry. If the regulators are standing on solid ground this time, I take it back.
Not in oil, so I’ll stand down. Thanks.
Higher or lower quality is not the issue.
The issue is, you put the wrong placard on the shipment and now owe us $96,000.
1.) I find it strange that trucks loaded with crude oil would be going to rail loading facilities and not vise versa (I am ignorant of ground to refinery process).
2.) If the source is the same, namely Bakken, then why the differing qualities?
3.) Now do we know whoever tested the product was not intent on falsifying the data in order to collect a fine?
Higher or lower quality is not the issue.
The issue is, you put the wrong placard on the shipment and now owe us $96,000.
We go from tanks to trucks to pipelines to the refinery here. It’s back to that pipeline thing.
What is the typical flash of this crude ?
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