In the context of recent derailments, regulatory scrutiny on crude by rail is now more in the spotlight than ever and the very viability of using rail to transport crude is at stake.  New regulatory requirements will impact every stakeholder from wellhead to refinery. 

It is therefore more important than ever that E&Ps, railroad operators, railcar manufacturers, transloaders and refiners come together to determine how new safety requirements will impact the cost of transporting crude by rail and what steps they will need to take to conform to new standards.

American Business Conferences is therefore thrilled to announce the launch of the Crude By Rail Safety Initiative 2014 (Houston, June 24-25). At the request of attendees from our industry leading Crude By Rail Series.  This one-off forum will focus specifically on how each stakeholder in the crude by rail value chain can cost-effectively optimize safety in their crude by rail operations.

As the only dedicated crude by rail safety event, the initiative will bring together expert speakers from every key stakeholder, including E&Ps, Railroads, Regulators, Transloaders & Refiners. Key topics of focus will include a cost-analysis of railroad and railcar upgrades,  best practices for crude testing, classification and transloading, a breakdown of how the emerging regulatory landscape will impact cost for both shippers and railroads each and best practice emergency response and hazmat training for shippers and railroads.

Attendees Will Gain Insight Into:

• REGULATOR STRATEGIES: Hearing from the key regulators and industry bodies across the U.S. and Canada to clarify their visions for improving crude by rail safety and how this will impact crude shippers and railroad operators

• CRUDE CLASSIFICATION & SAFE LOADING/ UNLOADING: Evaluating how E&Ps, transloaders and refiners are using best practice testing, sampling & classification of crude oil prior to shipment as well as optimizing the safety of loading and unloading procedures at crude by rail terminals to clarify the role of crude shippers in improving crude by rail safety

• COST & AVAILABILITY OF SAFER RAILCARS: Forecasting whether there will be sufficient supply of new safer railcars to meet regulations, the extent to which they will impact the costs of transporting crude by rail and what options will exist for retrofitting existing fleets

• RAIL ROUTES AND SPEEDS: Analyzing the plans of railroad operators for altering rail routes, reducing speeds, improving track inspections and investing in safer railcars when transporting crude and determining the impact on this on the economics of crude by rail transportation

• TRAINING, EMERGENCY RESPONSE & REMEDIATION: Examining how railroad operators, crude shippers, fire departments and police departments can work together to develop stronger crude specific hazmat training and knowledge to better respond to accidents 

Plus Exclusive Insights From Industry Leaders Including:

• James Rader, SVP Compliance, Watco

• Gary Weimer, Manager Quality Assurance and Control,Irving Oil

• Henry Ridders, HSE Management & Transportation Specialist, Talisman Energy

• Sherrill Derryberry, AVP Safety & Rules, OmniTrax

• Scott Wilkie, VP Operations, Tundra Oil & Gas

• Bob Pickel, SVP, National Steel Car

• Earl Crochet, Director Business Development, Kinder Morgan

• Michael Bourque, President & CEO, Railway Association of Canada

• Jeff Plale, Commissioner, Railroad Commission of Wisconsin

• Steve Smith, COO, Torq Transloading

• Matthew Goitia, CEO, Peaker Energy

• Beau Maida, Director of Rail Operations, GT Omniport

• Chuck Brown, VP Leasing – Rail Group, Andersons Inc

• Mark Luitwieler, SVP Operations, Peaker Energy

• Tom Cullen, Administrator, California Office Of Spill & Prevention Response

• Richard Arnhart, Regional Director, Texas General Land Office

• Dennis Jenkerson, Chief, St Louis Fire Department

DOWNLOAD THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM HERE