August 25, 2008

THUNDER BAY PORT AUTHORITY

A 450-tonne reactor, the largest single piece of cargo ever unloaded in Thunder Bay, arrives from Japan.

New Thunder Bay-to-Alberta shipping route handles cargo bound for oilsands

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

A new Canadian shipping route will allow cargo to flow to oilsands construction sites in Northern Alberta from Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The route is the result of a strategic partnership between CN Rail and the Port of Thunder Bay.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) is involved in the extraction of oilsands reserves through its Horizon Oilsands project, located 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.

Construction of the first phase is nearly complete, as the company is scheduled to start production of oil in the third quarter of 2008.

A major milestone for the project occurred earlier this month, when a giant component arrived on a vessel in Thunder Bay from Japan.

The port announced that the delivery of the 450-tonne reactor marked the start of a strategic partnership with CN rail to create a new route for oilsands project cargo.

“We are delighted to work with CN to provide this new Canadian gateway to western Canada’s oilsands,” said Tim Heney, CEO of the Thunder Bay Port Authority.

“The Port of Thunder Bay has a long history serving the needs of western Canada and we are dedicated to the integration of the marine and rail needs of transportation.”

The arrival of the massive vessel in Thunder Bay marked the completion of a 12,249-nautical mile journey from the port of Higashi Harima, Japan, via the Panama Canal.

The reactor is 35 meters long, 4.191 meters wide and 4.73 meters tall.

It has a gross loaded-on-rail weight of more than 590,000 kilograms and is the largest single piece of cargo ever unloaded in Thunder Bay.

According to a spokesperson with investor relations at CNRL, the Diesel Hydrotreater Reactor was built by Kobe Steel in Japan and is part of the second and third phases of the Horizon project.

The reactor was placed aboard special railcars and will stay in Thunder Bay until November.

Transportation of the reactor to the site is expected to take about three weeks

The route is important because West Coast ports are not an option for such shipments because there is not enough clearance to make it through the Rocky Mountains.

Prior to the opening of the new route, this type of oversize cargo had to go through Houston, Texas, or Duluth, Minn., to be shipped north over the border to Alberta.

As part of a new initiative to open up the Thunder Bay rail route to the flow of project cargo destined for Ft. McMurray, CN paid $25 million in February for the 202-mile Athabasca Northern Railway between Boyle and Lynton, Alta.

Since the purchase, CN has made improvements to the rail line as part of a three-year, $135-million rehabilitation project.

“This is a significant investment to upgrade the important rail corridor serving Alberta’s booming oilsands region,” said Jim Vena, senior vice-president of CN’s Western Region.

“Our commitment to infrastructure improvements will enhance safety and capacity, and reduce shipping time.”

The project involves the replacement of five track miles of rail and upgrading 37 bridges in 2008.

Other work completed or well underway includes replacing 230,000 wooden ties, improving roadbeds with the addition of more than 222,000 cubic yards of crushed rock, along with upgrades to crossings and other infrastructure.

The company has also undertaken the widening of rock cuts, as well as mile by mile re-measuring and inspection of rail lines to push the maximum envelope for oversize project cargo.

Another major component of this year’s project is the replacement of a 688-foot-long trestle bridge near Anzac, Alta.

CN is also enhancing the Fort McMurray Terminal at Lynton, which is just south of Fort McMurray, to better move traffic through the facility.

The company has opened a new gravel pit at Caslan, from which crushed rock is being used to support the infrastructure improvements..

The route now permits oversized equipment and components to reach Alberta’s oilsands on 2,400 uninterrupted kilometres of CN’s rail network.

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