TAYLOR, Mich. - Atlas Oil Company has confirmed its
strategic intent to become a major player in the crude hauling and crude
transportation business. Over the past
three years, Atlas?? crude transloading operations have increased by 750%,
reflecting the explosive growth in domestic crude production. The new business unit will be referred to as
Atlas Oil Transloading & Logistics.
"We were one of the early entrants to the crude transloading
business," said Sam Simon, CEO and owner of Atlas Oil. "We gained valuable expertise in the field as
this business began to grow and expand, so are now positioned very favorably.
As this market continues to grow, we will be a top player."
The Energy Information Agency (EIA) expects U.S. crude
production will again break the all-time yearly growth record in 2013, jumping
to 7.32 million barrels per day. This
has led to speculation that the U.S. is poised to not only produce what we need
domestically but also to potentially begin exporting crude.
Traditionally, crude oil has been transported to the
refinery through pipelines, but the recent production boom has required
additional capacity and a paradigm shift.
Atlas?? answer to this pipeline capacity constraint was to develop a
"virtual pipeline" through a combination of rail, transloading and trucking
that has proven to be an efficient and cost-effective solution.
Atlas Oil Transloading & Logistics is now investing in
the staffing of its facilities and in the specialized assets required for this
business. It has recently deployed more than 30 drivers and a fleet of
trucks to the South Texas region to haul crude oil for a major refiner in the
Eagle Ford shale play. An additional 20 to 40 drivers and assets will be
deployed in the second quarter. Atlas also acquired portable Lease Automatic
Custody Transfer (LACT) units to transfer the crude onto rail cars to be
distributed to the refineries in the Gulf Coast and other markets served by
rail.
Currently, Atlas has three transloading facilities in the
Gulf Coast area in Odessa and La Feria, Texas, and Albuquerque. The sites
handle crude and biofuel but some sites will have the potential to handle other
related commodities.
Read more information on Atlas Oil??s crude oil transloading.