Crude-by-rail terminals to expand in Alberta, New Mexico

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (KMP) last week announced its 50-50 joint venture with Imperial Oil Ltd. has entered into additional agreements with oil companies that will enable a planned expansion to move forward at the Edmonton Rail Terminal in Strathcona County, Alberta.

Under construction for nearly a year, the terminal will feature capacity of 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) at startup in first-quarter 2015. Capacity then potentially could climb to 250,000 bpd, KMP officials said in a press release.

Located near CN and Canadian Pacific mainlines, the terminal will be connected via pipeline to KMP’s adjacent Edmonton storage terminal and will source all crude streams for delivery by rail to North American destinations. Including the expanded capacity, KMP's investment in the project now totals about $232 million, company officials said.

Meanwhile, Murex L.L.C. and Cetane Energy L.L.C. have agreed to double the capacity of Cetane's crude transload terminal in Carlsbad, N.M.

Improvements to the unit-train transload terminal will accommodate the loading of 40,000 barrels of crude per day by July 2015. The project includes additional on-site storage, track enhancements, and increased capacity for truck offloading and rail-car loading.

Served by BNSF Railway Co. and Southwestern Railroad Inc., the terminal shipped its first unit train of crude in December 2013.

"Murex and Cetane have worked closely with the BNSF and Southwestern Railroad to convert Cetane Energy from a 25-car-per-day manifest terminal into a unit-train-capable facility, allowing for the shipment of up to two unit trains per week," said Murex President Robert Wright in a press release. "The additional investment into the facility will allow us to ship four to five unit trains per week, [offering] a unique, long-term and economical takeaway opportunity for Permian Basin crude-oil production."