America’s dependency on foreign oil combined with the skyrocketing prices of that oil have forced us to look in our own backyard for new sources and come up with ways to reach sources we know are there but have been inaccessible until now. Thanks to progress in drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology the U.S. is working daily to be less dependent on foreign oil.
The U.S. is number ten on the list of top ten countries in the world with the most oil reserves. So why aren’t we producing more crude oil? There have been three issues in the past: getting to the oil, extracting the oil and transporting the oil from northern regions to the south where the pipelines and refineries are located.
Crude oil is important to America because it’s used to make almost everything: gasoline, jet fuel, plastics, wax, home heating oil, pharmaceuticals, you name it, it’s probably a product of crude oil. When supply and demand are combined with politically unstable foreign countries it tends to create a combustible situation. As crude oil prices continue to increase, gas prices rise sharply and the price of most items has increased, too.
The United States uses approximately 20 million barrels of oil every day – about a quarter of the world’s oil supply. As our population increases, along with oil demand, we could run out of oil in the next few decades. To address this issue many major oil companies go in search of untapped resources. One such reserve has gotten a lot of press – the Bakken oil play, which is one of the largest onshore plays in America.
If you are able to extract crude oil what do you do with it if you’re nowhere near the pipeline or a refinery? In this type of instance crude oil is normally stored in floating roof tanks that can hold around 2.7 million gallons of crude each. A tanker truck will draw the oil out of the storage tank then drive to a terminal built near a railway station. Over 100 connected rail cars will be waiting on a rail spur to be filled with oil from the trucks. Transloading, which is the process of pulling from one vehicle to put into another, takes place. Metering systems keep track of how much product is moved.
If this sounds like a dangerous job – that’s because it is. All truck and rail car loading terminals need components required to safely load and unload product. An integrated design keeps the entire terminal functioning smoothly and ensures that personnel are safe from falls and other injuries.
Once the rail cars are loaded, they’re ready for the trip south to Houston, Louisiana, or another stop with pipeline access. When the rail cars reach the refinery location the reverse process of transferring crude oil takes place.
It’s imperative that this country find other sources of fuels and the more affordable, the better. Contact Carbis today and we’ll help you with a new, integrated terminal that focuses on safety and smooth workflow during the transloading process.
