Canadian National to build Alabama rail terminal to serve Gulf Coast

ARC TERMINAL is working with Canadian Nation Railway (CN) to build a rail tank car unloading terminal in Mobile, Alabama, to handle western Canadian heavy and Bakken light crude oils destined for Gulf Coast refineries.

The CN-served facility will have a maximum crude-oil handling capacity of 75,000 barrels, or up to 120 tank cars per day, and is scheduled to start operation by June 2013. Initial volume is expected to be 40 tank cars of crude oil daily, increasing according to demand, said a CN statement.

"The Mobile facility - the first rail tank car crude-oil unloading terminal in Alabama - will provide good access to Gulf Coast refineries and allow quick turnaround of tank cars, increasing product delivery and fleet velocity and reducing costs for car owners," said Arc Terminals president John Blanchard.

"The rail transload terminal will handle heavy crude oil from Western Canada and light crude oil from the Bakken basin via CN, which will provide Canadian producers single-haul service to our Mobile destination. A single-line haul is more efficient and less expensive than those involving two or more rail carriers and multiple terminal switching," he said.