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Yesterday, Canadian Pacific announced it’s expanding the transportation of crude oil by rail from the Bakken Formation in Saskatchewan via a new transload facility operated by Bulk Plus Logistics in Estevan.

Volume from Estevan will join loads already moving out of a Dollard, Saskatchewan, facility — which is located on the Great Western Railway Ltd., one of the Class I's short-line partners — and destined to various refineries in Canada and the United States, CP officials said in a prepared statement.

The Bakken region is a key focus area for CP and part of the Class I's growing energy portfolio, they said. Over the past three years, rail shipments out of North Dakota have increased from 500 to more than 13,000, and volume is projected to grow to 70,000 carloads annually.

CP plans to take the lessons learned and products developed in North Dakota and apply them in emerging Bakken markets in Saskatchewan and Alberta, said Energy and Merchandise Vice President Tracy Robinson.

“To fully capitalize on these opportunities, CP has established a specialized Energy Development Team to proactively position [our] products and capabilities in this rapidly emerging market place,” said Robinson.

CP is spending more than $90 million to enhance capacity on its U.S. mainline south of Saskatchewan through North Dakota and into Minnesota to handle increased Bakken volumes, including crude oil, pipe and frac sand shipments.