Fraser Institute: Canada oil, gas pipeline transportation safer than rail
During 2003-13, oil and gas transportation by pipeline in Canada was 4.5 times safer than moving the same volume the same distance using rail, the Fraser Institute said in a study entitled "Safety in the Transportation of Oil and Gas: Pipeline or Rail."
Study author Kenneth P. Green used statistics from the Canadian Transportation Safety Board and Transport Canada to compare the safety of oil moved by pipeline vs. rail. Taylor Jackson also helped write the report.
"I hope it becomes better understood that saying no to a pipeline is saying yes to rail, and that is to increase the risk to the environment and human health and not decrease it," Green said.
In June, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said crude-by-rail volumes, which averaged 185,000 b/d in 2014, were expected to grow through at least 2018. Beyond that, rail use will be affected by the timing of pipeline projects, CAPP said, adding some oil still will continue to be moved by rail.
The Fraser Institute study noted federally regulated pipelines in Canada as of early August moved about 15 times more hydrocarbons than the railroads.
Pipelines experienced more "occurrences" than rail (1,226 vs. 127) during 2003-13, but fewer issues when the numbers were adjusted to account for volume and distance, said the study, released Aug. 13.
Green concluded pipelines were likely to experience 0.049 occurrences per 1,000 boe transported while railroads were likely to experience about 0.227 occurrences per 1,000 boe transported.
Canadian Transportation Safety Board statistics indicated 73% of pipeline occurrences resulted in spills of less than 1 cu m while 16% caused no spill at all, the study said.
About 83% of pipeline incidents happened in compressor stations, processing plants, and terminals, not in the pipeline, which meant they were more likely to be contained. Similarly, only 15% of rail problems occurred in transit.
US and Canada regulators changed regulations for rail car standards after various incidents, including a deadly train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Que., involving a train operated by Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway in 2013.
In Lac-Megantic, 72 cars carrying Bakken crude derailed, causing fires and explosions that destroyed much of the town and left 47 people dead (UOGR, March/April 2015, p. 1).
Green said it remains to be seen if those new rules will make crude-by-rail transport safer.
"Most rail accidents come down to human-operator error," he said. Noting that it's impossible to remove operator error, he said it would take time to determine the effect that new technology and hardware have on rail transportation safety. Newer features include automatic pneumatic-braking systems and heavier steel requirements for rail cars.