Joliet refinery to take Canadian crude by rail

ExxonMobil's 240,000 b/d Joliet refinery in Illinois will handle Canadian crude arriving by rail beginning in March.

The crude will be shipped from a 210,000 b/d rail terminal in Edmonton, Alberta, that serves ExxonMobil's Kearl oil sands production. That facility, a joint venture by ExxonMobil affiliate Imperial Oil and Kinder Morgan, is also starting up in early March.

The start up of the Edmonton site will mark another major new conduit for Canadian crude to move to the US, further cementing rail as a workaround for delays on cross-border pipeline Keystone XL and also marking the major's appetite for heavy crude at its refineries via rail. ExxonMobil has also invested in rail in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, area, to feed its 500,000 b/d refinery there.

The Joliet refinery has been taking about 150,000 b/d of Canadian crude.

A rail unloading site for the refinery will take the trains via Canadian National Railway, according to documents filed with the US Surface Transportation Board. The Joliet Bulk, Barge & Rail (JBBR) site is owned by CenterPoint Properties and will only serve ExxonMobil. The company plans to develop storage tanks to store crude and build a 210,000 b/d pipeline to the refinery. The facility's location will allow CN to route trains around Chicago, avoiding congestion, JBBR said in the documents.

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