Sandia Releases Survey of Crude Oil Properties Relevant to Handling and Fire Safety in Transport

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Sandia National Laboratories Releases Literature Survey of Crude Oil Properties Relevant to Handling and Fire Safety in Transport

March 24, 2015 - 3:30pm
Paula Gant
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Oil and Natural Gas

The United States is in the midst of an energy renaissance, thanks in large part to the rapid increase in oil and gas production. In fact, the U.S is now the number one natural gas producer in the world and by 2016 U.S. oil production will exceed 9 million barrels a day -- a level not seen since 1970. This abundance provides tremendous promise for strengthening our energy security and our economy for decades to come.

Much of this new domestic oil and gas supply is being produced from unconventional resources -- particularly light sweet crude oil from the Bakken shale in North Dakota, as well as the Eagle Ford and Permian Basins in Texas. This rapid growth has also created challenges in moving crude oil to market. Rail is increasingly relied upon to transport crude oil because production has exceeded the capacity of pipelines to move oil from these areas to refineries in the West, Midwest and Northeast. In the last five years, the movement of crude by rail has increased by 4000 percent. The great majority of this crude oil transport takes place without incident. However, the dramatic increase in the quantity of crude being shipped by rail and the significant distances traveled, along with several notable recent train derailments, have raised serious transportation safety concerns. The Administration has been working to make such transportation even safer, issuing two dozen emergency safety orders in the last year alone.

The Department of Energy is helping to develop an understanding of scientific questions associated with the production, treatment, and transportation of crude oils, including Bakken crude oil. To support this effort, the Department’s Sandia National Laboratories recently completed a report in cooperation with the Department of Transportation -- Literature Survey of Crude Oil Properties Relevant to Handling and Fire Safety in Transport.

Literature Survey of Crude Oil Properties Relevant to Handling and Fire Safety in Transport Report

The Department of Energy (DOE) is helping to develop an understanding of scientific questions associated with the production, treatment, and transportation of crude oils, including Bakken crude oil. To support this effort, the Department’s Sandia National Laboratories recently completed a report in cooperation with the Department of Transportation, Literature Survey of Crude Oil Properties Relevant to Handling and Fire Safety in Transport, (SAND2015-1823) Unlimited Release, Printed March 2015.