Railroad transport will remain a crucial component to move Bakken shale crude oil to market in the foreseeable future, says Brian Freed, vice president-business development with Rangeland Energy LLC, based in Sugar Land, Texas.

"There are a lot of constraints to getting new pipeline capacity built, so rail service will continue to be important in the foreseeable future," Freed told the October Hart Energy Executive Breakfast Club meeting in Houston.

Some new pipeline projects, such as ONEOK Partners' proposed Bakken Crude Express line to Cushing, Oklahoma, announced earlier this year, have good odds for completion and will add important capacity for Williston Basin producers in North Dakota and Montana. But other potential projects, to serve such markets as the Pacific Northwest, California and the East Coast "are not likely" due to distance, terrain, and environmental and permitting concerns, he added.

The Bakken Express project would move as much as 200,000 bbl. per day to the Cushing crude hub and also provide an outlet for oil produced in the rapidly developing Niobrara shale play in Colorado and Wyoming.

Freed said railroads, meanwhile, are putting new emphasis on the special needs of crude producers. "They're actively helping people identify origins and destinations and responding to scheduling concerns of crude producers, which are more time-critical than other commodities, such as coal," he added.

Rangeland assists midstream refiners, marketers and producers with infrastructure to move refined product, crude oil and associated natural gas products to market. Its projects include a 720,000 bbl. capacity crude oil hub at Epping, North Dakota, with pipeline, rail and truck connections.

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