Industry report finds Bakken oil no more risky

The oil industry claims in a new report that crude oil from the Bakken fields is no more dangerous than other oil shipments and pushed back against tougher rules for rail cars carrying crude following a number of fiery accidents.

The industry report, which was released during the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference and Expo in Bismarck, N.D., reaches different conclusions than the federal government, which issued a safety alert in January warning the public, emergency responders and shippers about the potential high volatility of crude from the Bakken oil patch.

The industry study says oil shipped from North Dakota and Montana is comparable to other light crudes, with characteristics that fall well within the margin of safety for the current tank car fleet.

Kari Cutting, vice president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, said the study proves federal rules “are sufficient.”

But a former senior federal railway safety official disagreed and said recent accidents are enough to justify government intervention.

“We already have examples of this particular crude going ‘boom,’” said Grady Cothen, former deputy associate administrator for safety at the Federal Railroad Administration. “That’s how it has to be treated from a regulatory standpoint.”

Trains hauling crude oil were involved in at least eight major accidents in the U.S. and Canada over the past year, including an explosion of Bakken crude in Lac-Megantic, Quebec that killed 47 people and explosive derailments in Alabama, North Dakota, New Brunswick and Virginia.

BNSF Railway and the Whitefish fire and police departments will host a public information gathering to address the safe transportation of oil from the Bakken that passes through the Flathead at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish on Tuesday, June 10, at 7 p.m.

There will be a presentation addressing the precautions taken for safe transportation of oil and the types of response that will occur in the unlikely event of a rail mishap.

Federal regulators have discouraged shippers from using older tank cars known to rupture during accidents.

The North Dakota Petroleum Council, which represents more than 500 companies working in the oil fields of North Dakota and Montana, commissioned the $400,000 study of Bakken crude characteristics.

The group said more than 150 oil samples were taken from well sites and rail facilities throughout North Dakota and Montana, and sent to independent laboratories for analyses. The results will be shared with federal regulators this month, the group said.

Last week, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, a lobbying group for oil refiners, reported they found Bakken crude to be no more risky or flammable to ship than other oils, if hauled correctly under current federal rules.

A Department of Transportation spokeswoman said the agency was reviewing the industry data even as it continues analyzing samples of Bakken oil gathered by regulators. Results of the government’s testing have not been released.

Canadian investigators have said the crude involved in the Lac-Megantic was highly volatile and comparable to gasoline.

Mile-long trains pulling more than 100 cars laden with Bakken crude began running in 2008 when the state first reached its shipping capacity with existing pipelines and infrastructure.

More than $2 billion has been spent on infrastructure and nearly two dozen railed-oil loading facilities have been built in North Dakota in recent years to move Bakken crude across the U.S. and Canada.

North Dakota officials say that more than 70 percent of the more than 1 million barrels of oil produced daily from the Bakken region is being moved by rail, as producers increasingly have turn to trains instead of pipelines to reach U.S. refineries offering premium prices.