[Vision2020] Megaloads Could Skip U.S. on Rail-Truck Canada Route
lfalen
lfalen at turbonet.com
Thu May 26 15:21:24 PDT 2011
I am all for rail. They vary well may use rail when that is available, which it isn't now.
That is a business decision for them to make when the time comes.
Roger
-----Original message-----
From: "Tom Hansen" thansen at moscow.com
Date: Thu, 26 May 2011 08:41:40 -0700
To: "Moscow Vision 2020" vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Megaloads Could Skip U.S. on Rail-Truck Canada Route
> Courtesy of today's (May 26, 2011) Spokesman-Review.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> Megaloads could skip U.S. on rail-truck Canada route
> Betsy Z. Russell
>
> BOISE What if giant loads of oil field equipment didnt have to enter
> the United States to get from Asia to the Alberta oil sands project in
> Canada, and what if avoiding the U.S. actually cost less?
>
> Thats the prospect being floated by a railroad company that owns a
> Canadian seaport. Its adding a new wrinkle to the debate over equipment
> transports to the third-largest proven crude oil reserve in the world,
> where dozens of companies are rushing to develop an oil resource thats
> eclipsed only by those of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
>
> A court ruling is pending in Montana and an administrative ruling pending
> in Idaho on the 200-plus megaload transports proposed by Imperial
> Oil/ExxonMobil, which would take giant modules fabricated in Korea up the
> Columbia and Snake rivers by barge to Lewiston, then truck them across
> scenic U.S. Highway 12 in north-central Idaho to Montana and Canada. The
> loads are so big theyll block both lanes of the twisting, two-lane
> highway, creating a rolling roadblock; but theyre too tall to travel on
> most other routes, including interstate highways.
>
> Delays in getting permits for the transports are worrying Imperial/Exxon,
> which has 33 loads sitting in Lewiston. Company spokesman Pius Rolheiser
> said, Were at the point now where the permitting delays that weve
> already experienced have put pressure on our project execution plans.
>
> The new alternative: Instead of coming to Idaho, megaloads could be
> shipped from Korea through the Panama Canal, up around the United States
> to Hudson Bay on the east coast of Canada, and from there west by rail,
> with a final segment by truck.
>
> There are supposedly thousands of these modules that need to move, over
> and above the ones that are stuck in Lewiston, said Gary Long, president
> and CEO of OmniTRAX, a Denver-based firm and one of North Americas
> largest private railroad and transportation management companies. Rail is
> always cheaper than truck transportation, always.
You can move a ton of
> freight 480 miles on one gallon of fuel.
>
> Imperial/Exxon says Highway 12 remains its preferred option. Its also
> cutting down the loads that are currently in Lewiston so theyre short
> enough to travel on interstate highways, and it has shipped 45 smaller
> loads on interstate highways from the Port of Vancouver, Wash., to Canada.
>
> But there could be many more companies looking to bring big equipment to
> the oil sands, and thats where OmniTRAX is focused.
>
> There are a myriad of companies that are operating in the oil sands,
> Long said. Weve had some discussions with several of the oil companies
> theyre interested.
>
> In 1997, OmniTRAX bought the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay, the only
> deep-water Arctic seaport in North America, and the Hudson Bay Railway,
> which runs from the Port of Churchill into the interior of Canada.
>
> Hundreds of tons of grain are shipped from the port each year to
> destinations in Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa and Central
> America. Said Ian White, president and CEO of the Canadian Wheat Board,
> They provide a good service and it is a northern port that is fairly
> unique in terms of its position.
>
> One catch to the port: Due to ice, its season is short, generally
> stretching from early July to the end of October. But Long says theres
> plenty of room at the port to bring in hundreds of megaloads during the
> shipping season, store them there, and stage them for transport by rail to
> the oil sands whenever the oil companies need them.
>
> We operate the railroad that serves the port 24/7, 12 months a year, he
> said.
>
> The over-land trip, his company estimates, would be 300 miles shorter than
> the trip from Lewiston through Idaho and Montana to the oil sands. Itd be
> much farther from Korea to the Port of Churchill by water than to the Port
> of Vancouver, but experts say thats really not an issue.
>
> Ocean-borne transport costs are very low, and are really low as a
> function of distance, said James Harrington, a professor of geography who
> teaches international trade at the University of Washington. Because once
> you get something loaded, you go through all the steps and you get the
> ship under way, then its a matter of just keeping it gliding through the
> water.
>
> Harrington said the pending expansion of the Panama Canal has seaports
> around the Northwest worried that theyll lose lucrative shipments bound
> for the interior of the United States or Canada once bigger ships can use
> the canal to take those directly to the East Coast.
>
> Completion of a major enlargement of the canal is scheduled for 2014,
> according to the Panama Canal Authority.
>
> Long said his companys rail line already can accommodate loads 30 feet
> wide, though seven bridges will need upgrades to handle either the height
> or width of the megaloads. Weve already done that analysis, already had
> discussions with the government of Manitoba regarding that, Long said.
> We could do it as quickly as 12 months we could probably do it sooner.
>
> The bridge upgrades would be in the millions of dollars, but Long said,
> It is a drop in the bucket, I think its a very small amount compared
> to what would be the total opportunity cost for the oil companies to put
> those things through.
>
> He estimated that megaloads could travel by rail from the Port of
> Churchill to the end of the Hudson Bay Railway at Flin Flon, Manitoba, in
> two to three days. The final leg of the trip, which would be done by
> truck, likely would take another two to three days, he said.
>
> OmniTRAX has identified a potential truck route on all-season roads that
> runs through Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and then up to Fort McMurray,
> Alberta, thats about 750 miles. Long, however, said there is a shorter
> route, but Wed have to work with the governments of Saskatchewan and
> Alberta.
>
> Long said an all-Canada route to the Canadian oil sands project might
> raise less opposition than U.S. transport routes. The rail portion, in
> particular, does not disrupt the communities at all.
>
> Imperial/Exxon has sent only one test megaload over the Idaho route so
> far; it was pronounced a success by both the company and the state
> Transportation Department, though it knocked out power to two Idaho towns
> for five hours and closed Highway 12 for an hour. State rules call for
> megaload transports to not impede traffic for more than 15 minutes at a
> time in Idaho, and 10 minutes at a time in Montana.
>
> Rolheiser said his company didnt consider the Port of Churchill for its
> current project because we kind of had to look at the routes and
> infrastructure that currently exist.
>
> Harrington, the UW professor, said with rail travel cheaper than truck,
> and ocean travel cheaper than rail, the alternative route could be viable.
> It is very conceivable to me, he said.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> PS - Don't forget about . . .
>
> "The Third Annual Intolerista Wingding"
> http://www.moscowcares.com/wingding2011
>
> "The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
> and the Realist adjusts his sails."
>
> - Author Unknown
>
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