“Moving Crude by Railcar Stalls on the Track - Heightened Safety Concerns, Slow Permit Approval Hinder Some Firms’ Efforts” by Alison Slider on pages B-1 and B-2 of the Thursday, 05 Dec. 2013 issue, in the Marketplace/ Business section:
http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-397582/
In brief, the permits necessary to build new export or transloading terminals that would receive the oil are being delayed by mainly environmental (and some safety) concerns and objections - but nothing directly within the control of the railroads. There’s also an interesting map graphic that lists the relative costs per barrel (source: Valero Refining) of moving the oil by rail from the Bakken field to various coastal ports - ranging from $9.50 to Washington to $16 to the East Coast (as best as I can recall). That graphic doesn’t appear at the above link (and the article there might not be visible to all viewers without doing a Google News search, etc.), but it’s worth looking for at a library, etc.
“In Fracking, Sand Is the New Gold - Energy Boom Fuels Demand for Key Ingredient Used in Drilling Wells; 100 Sand Mines in Wisconsin” by Alison Slider and Kristin Jones, Tues. or Weds., 03 or 04 Dec. 2013:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304868404579194250973656942
- Paul North.