U.S. lacks transportation infrastructure for newly developed oil and gas fields

"The North American shale boom has brought with it many benefits, including new jobs, cheaper electricity and the potential for energy independence," but the problem facing the growing business is finding enough transportation options to move the product to the market, Diane Cardwell reports for The New York Times. "With the glut of oil, pipelines are congested and railroads are scrambling to pick up the slack, raising concerns about hazards like the recent explosion that killed dozens in Quebec. Similarly, highways are underdeveloped for this kind of traffic, while oceangoing tankers are burdened with regulatory constraints and there is a barge shortage." (Associated Press photo by Paul Chiasson: Afetrmath of the July oil-train derailment in Quebec that killed 47)

Rail shipments of crude in the U.S. have increased from 9,500 carloads in 2008 to nearly 234,000 last year, Cardwell notes. One way to carry the product is pipelines, but building new ones is expensive and unpopular among residents along the routes, and using existing fuel pipelines would mean adapting the system to reverse "the flow of some pipelines, building new routes, and changing which fuel goes where, a time-consuming and expensive process that can require government approval," Cardwell writes. "The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, a pipeline trade group, says building the required infrastructure will take $251 billion over the next 25 years." But even then, there still won't be enough pipelines to carry all the product being produced. As a result, some oil producers "are burning the natural gas that is a byproduct of hydraulic fracturing for oil, or fracking," because it's cheaper than finding a place to put it and getting it there. (Read more)