CALGARY — Building pipelines isn’t the only land-based option to transport large amounts of crude oil between countries.
Canadian Pacific (TSX:CP) is expanding its network for hauling crude oil from the Bakken formation that straddles the U.S.-Canada border to destinations across North America.
The Calgary-based rail company said Tuesday that a planned hub at Van Hook, N.D., will be able to move up to 35,000 barrels per day of crude and related products to CP rail cars from trucks serving Bakken drilling sites.
The hub, located on CP’s North Dakota rail network, will be developed by U.S. Development Group.
“This partnership with USD strengthens our network and advances our strategy to drive volume growth, expand network capacity and achieve targeted improvements in our operating efficiency,” Jane O’Hagan, CP executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, said in a statement Tuesday.
Canadian Pacific has been strategically expanding in the crude-by-rail market, with a particular focus on the Bakken formation that underlies parts of Saskatchewan, North Dakota and other states and provinces.
Last month, it announced it had begun shipping crude from a new hub on the Alberta border in Lloydminster, Sask., with a further expansion planned later this year.
In December, it announced plans to increase the volume moving through a new loading facility in Estevan, Sask., near the North Dakota border, to be operated by Bulk Plus Logistics.
That will be in addition to loads already moving out of Dollard, Sask., at a connection with CP partner Great Western Railway.
Canadian Pacific has also previously said it would invest more than $90 million to enhance capacity on its U.S. main line south of Saskatchewan, through North Dakota and into Minnesota.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), there may be as many as 503 billion barrels of oil in the Bakken Formation — a natural geological phenomenon in the region — and estimates say that anywhere from three to 50 per cent of it is recoverable by currently available technology.