June 24, 2014 [OPIS] - Meritage Midstream Services said on Monday that the first crude oil unit train loaded at its Black Thunder Terminal departed the Wyoming terminal last Friday via the Union Pacific railway.
The Black Thunder Terminal LLC is a joint venture between Meritage Midstream and Arch Coal. Served by both the Union Pacific and BNSF railways, the terminal is located at the Black Thunder mining complex in Campbell County, Wyo., in the heart of the Powder River Basin’s drilling activity.
The 99-car train is carrying 70,000 bbl of crude oil to a refinery on the East Coast for the terminal’s anchor shipper, Black Thunder Marketing LLC.
All of the train’s tank cars are new and meet the safety standards adopted earlier this year by the American Association of Railroads.
The Black Thunder Terminal provides outbound rail-to-market optionality for crude oil production from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.
Phase I truck-to-train transload service has been fully operational at Black Thunder since the beginning of March. Current transload capacity is 10,000 b/d. Landing and loading space is available.
Construction of Phase II high-speed loading facilities is expected to begin later this year. The Phase II facility will include up to four 100,000-bbl storage tanks and a 15-car rack system capable of loading 15 to 18 cars per hour. Target total loading time is 15 hours.
High-speed loading service is expected to be available in 2015. The terminal’s location at the Black Thunder mining complex provides ample room for additional expansion to meet customer needs.
Meritage also announced two additions to the company’s crude oil team. Trevin Hogg has joined the company as director of crude oil rail operations and marketing. His current focus is the operation and marketing of the Black Thunder Terminal and Black Thunder Marketing LLC.
Before he joined Meritage, Hogg was with Union Pacific for nine years. He led the development of Union Pacific’s crude-by-rail business from the inception of the business line in 2009.
Richmond McGee has also joined Meritage Midstream as senior crude manager. He helps manage Black Thunder Marketing LLC with responsibilities that include supply management and business development.
Prior to Meritage, McGee served as a manager of crude oil supply at Sunoco Logistics in Sugar Land, Texas, where he worked closely with the company’s producer customers.
