Oil Trains Start Rumbling Into California: Expect a Fierce Political Battle

Phillips 66, formerly a division of energy giant ConocoPhillips, recently filed a project proposal to bring mile-long crude oil trains from Canada and North Dakota to its refinery in California’s San Luis Obispo County. If approved, the project would mean up to 250 trains a year will each haul 2 million gallons of crude oil into California and travel on the same tracks used for Amtrak commuter railtrains in the San Francisco Bay Area. With oil fracking increasing America’s domestic production by 60% in the last three years, political delays in building the Keystone XL Pipeline resulted in California having the only refining capacity available in America. But a with horrible safety record, a political battle will heat up in California over oil trains.

America oil production since 2008 is up by about 60% to 2.7 billion barrels a year.In 2013, total U.S. crude oil production grew by 15% to 7.4 million barrels per day as fracking of underground shale formations in the Eagle Ford field of Texas and Bakken in North Dakota allowed both of those states to grow production by 29% for the year. In three years, output grew in North Dakota by 177% and in Texas by 119%.

Railroads have been making fortunes carrying North Dakota crude oil from the Bakken field at an average of $17 a barrel of crude oil to Texas refineries versus an estimated $10 a barrel if the Keystone XL Pipeline had been built. The key beneficiary of this bonanza has been Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Corporation that purchased the Burlington Northern Railway (BNI) in 2009.

ALL energy producing companies outside of CA should cease supplying them, entirely and immediately. Open the breakers, cut them off. Let them have their ‘pristine’ paradise, without any energy not produced in state. No gasoline, no oil, no electricity. CA environment is just as important as AZ, NV, and any other.

With oil fracking increasing America’s domestic production by 60% in the last three years

Now, there's a truly astonishing stat! And entirely the work of private enterprise, indeed intentionally hampered by government regulation.

Incentivized by the massive potential profits.

Even greater profits are out there for someone who develops a truly clean way to burn coal. Would be quite surprised if considerable resources aren't being devoted to finding one.

But a with horrible safety record, a political battle will heat up in California over oil trains.

I stopped reading after this.

"horrible" is activist hyperbole.

Then only show a photo of a disaster. Nice.

Let's have a discussion about public transportation, starting with derailment photos.

These trains would not cross the Sierras, but come through Oregon, past Lake Shasta. They had a chemical train derailment on this route.

But short of a pipeline, and 38 million people that need to travel, what are the alternatives?

I've seen an uptick in the number of carloads of crude that pas through the rail yard that I work at, and I don't see that going away anytime soon. There's more refineries on the west coast than people think, and no pipelines headed that way. And BTW, I don't play on buffet's toy train set, and consider him to be competition to be crushed.

If I were king, I would prohibit all oil imports to California until they emptied the oil reserves off their own coasts.”

And I would strongly support you. I also think other states should quit selling them electricity. They can use their wind farms and solar to meet their needs. I would, however, allow an exemption to all California Freepers.

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