Say, got a great idea, why not export oil from North Dakota located in the U.S.A. and ship it across the continent by rail to St.John New Brunswick in Canada, then take oil from Alberta ,Canada, ship it South to Texas, U.S.A. and try to route the pipeline as close to North Dakota as possible on it’s way to Texas, Think I’m on to something? or a little too far fetched?
I would suggest that you read the RBN blog on a regular basis…this is a great blog on energy and transportation (by rail, pipeline, barge, etc). These guys are really interesting and informative.
There are a number of railroad related blogs if you dig deeply.
Ed
There already are crude oil pipelines from Alberta thru ND (including the Bakken) to Texas, and more are being planned and built. Here is a link to a map by the American Petroleum Institute (API):
The key is what type of Oil each field produces. The Bakken produces Light (~42 API degrees) and Sweet (Low Sulphur) Oil. The Canadian Tar Sands Bitumen is Heavy and Sour. It doesn’t flow except when hot, so if you want to pipeline it you either dilute it into a product called Dilbit(Diluted Bitumen) or you Hydrotreat it into Syncrude, either process lightens the mixture raising the API degrees (measure of viscosity).
Light Oils produce more Gasoline and light fractions, less diesel, and other Middle Distillates. At the time a refinery is built or rebuilt, the designer decides on the optimum input Crude, and the spectrum of the outputs. This determines the crack spread. If the refinery was planned to use Light Crudes a typical simplified would be 6 gallons of crude would be 3 gallons of gasoline feedstock, 2 gallons of Middle Distillates, and 1 gallon of all other products(both high and low). Heavier Crudes yield more Middle Distillates, and less gasoline.
Most refineries were designed to handle Crudes with an API in the range of 36 to 39. No refinery has been yet built for just Light Crudes in the range that Shale Oil is normally. A significant number of refineries in Gulf region have been rebuilt to handle Crudes in the Heavy range (~ 32 API degrees). Attempting to use Crude with a different API and a different sulphur content while reduce the
All oil is not the same - just like all coal is not the same.
FWIW:
No Special Regulations Prevent Moving Crude By Rail
Bruce