The U.S. faces numerous foreign policy challenges — many in areas that are sources of crude oil that helps drive our economy and supports our way of life. Vladimir Putin sending tanks and troops into Ukraine and ISIS taking over oil fields in Iraq and Syria make it clear how important energy independence is for America.
Yet that point seems completely lost on demonstrators recently arrested for blocking the railroad tracks in Everett. Their protest against train shipments of oil and coal and “proposed export terminals” shows that only one side of the story about oil trains is being told.
Crude oil coming by rail through the Puget Sound region is going to in-state refineries to produce the transportation fuels we all rely upon.
Every unit train that brings oil to a Washington refinery reduces the need for transporting foreign and Alaska crude across the waters of Puget Sound.
Petroleum fuels and products refined from crude oil are essential for Northwest businesses and industries, for agriculture, for getting goods to markets, for people getting to and from work, getting kids to school, and so much more. These include gasoline and diesel for cars, trucks, buses and ferries, jet fuel for airplanes and numerous other products. Our entire economy runs because of these products, and our lifestyles are made possible because of the reliable access to them.
Communities, businesses and people in this state use more than 19 million barrels of petroleum products every year. With Boeing, commercial airlines and other users, the state is the eighth largest consumer of jet fuel in the country.
While petroleum consumption is declining, we will, for many years to come, require millions of barrels of oil a year for use in our state. Isn’t it better that we rely on domestic sources?
Even with higher fuel economy standards and alternative energy sources for transportation and other needs, petroleum fuels and products will remain the backbone of our Northwest and national economy for decades.
We need infrastructure to move toward energy independence. The Vancouver (Washington) Energy project is the most aggressive infrastructure development for U.S. energy independence in the West. Its crude-by-rail facility at the Port of Vancouver would send domestic crude to West Coast refineries and reduce West Coast reliance on foreign oil by 30 percent.
The Vancouver Energy project will also stimulate the local and regional economy with more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs every year through 15 years of operation, and generate an overall economic impact of about $2 billion including construction activities. It will also help advance U.S. energy security and independence in an unstable world, and provide a stable supply of crude oil for domestic needs.
Most people understand this. Public opinion surveys show that the majority of people in Washington and the Northwest disagree with the protesters in regard to crude by rail.
Still it is frustrating that the news media and others such as the protesters tend to focus on the perceived negatives regarding crude oil by rail. There really is a positive side to the story: less foreign oil, greater stability of supply and more domestic jobs, among other benefits.
Rather than trying to ban oil by rail, let’s all work together to make certain that essential public and environmental protection procedures are in place to do it safely.
Dan Cameron, a Skagit County native and lifelong resident, is vice president of the Anacortes Refinery, Tesoro Refining &Marketing Co.
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