Making oil trains safer.
As Prairie Public Inside Energy reporter Emily Guerin tells us, that’s the reason North Dakota regulators have adopted rules on “conditioning” Bakken crude.
GUERIN: It’s North Dakota crude oil that has come under the most scrutiny. That’s because there’s so much of the stuff on the rails--and it’s been involved in a number of fiery train crashes. … Last week, regulators took a major step towards making their oil less explosive. Lynn Helms is the director of North Dakota’s department of mineral resources.
LYNN HELMS: What these rules are is some basic but strict standards on how oil companies need to operate their equipment at the wellsite to make sure that the really volatile parts of the crude oil are removed.
GUERIN: Meanwhile the federal government is still deliberating safety regulations that could impact all trains. Almost 50 times more oil was carried by trains in 2013 than in 2009.
For Inside Energy, I’m Emily Guerin.