Americas News
Oil Terminal Planned for U.S. Northwest
A U.S. fuel storage company is planning a marine oil terminal on the Northwest coast, local newspaper The Columbian reports.
Arc Logistics Partners LP, which operates crude oil and other fuel plants on the U.S. East Coast and Midwest, has signed a lease for a former asphalt plant in Portland, Oregon.
The 39-acre site has 84 tanks with a total capacity of 46 million gallons, and has the capacity to receive, store, and deliver heavy and light petroleum products by both vessel and rail.
Several terminals are now planned for the region due to increased oil production in North America, much of which is shipped from the Bakken oil fields to the West Coast.
Terminals have also been proposed for Grays Harbor, Vancouver, and Tacoma, all in Washington State.
"We expect the Portland Terminal to provide the opportunity for significant incremental growth as additional customers or terminal capabilities are developed," said Arc Logistics CEO Vince Cubbage.
The increased shipments of oil by train into the Northwest has raised safety and environmental concerns, as the amount of oil spilled in train derailments in the U.S. skyrocketed in 2013.
"It's a big threat to our communities and to water quality," said Brett VandenHeuvel, executive director of environmental nonprofit Columbia Riverkeeper.
"We've seen that these trains carrying Bakken crude have regularly been exploding.
"A federal safety board said that this Bakken crude should route around urban areas and the thought of putting one in the heart of Portland is a big problem."
Increased production of shale oil in the U.S. is changing the dynamics of energy markets has led some in the country to push for legislation to allow crude oil exports, which are now generally banned.
