Rail rules likely to increase crude vessel imports into Puget Sound: analysts

摘要

Washington-New standards for crude moving by rail through Washington state will likely cause North Dakota operators to ship more crude to the US Gulf Coast, while vessel traffic into Puget Sound will likely increase as the state’s five refineries are expected to import more Alaskan and Asian crudes, analysts say. On March 3, Washington’s state Senate approved a bill which sets new vapor pressure limits for Bakken crude shipped through the state, prohibiting a facility from loading or unloading any crude from a rail tank car unless the oil has a vapor pressure of less than 9 psi. The new standards would become effective on July 1, 2020.