USDG begins Niobrara Crude ops

US Development Group (USDG), a Houston-based developer of rail logistics and terminal facilities, has begun operations at its Niobrara Crude Terminal (NCT) in Colorado. The logistics hub is handling crude oil and related products from the Niobrara shale play, which primarily spans Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. NCT rail operations offer direct truck-to-rail loading, with the capacity to handle up to 35,000 barrels per day at 30 truck unloading positions. Served by Union Pacific railroad, NCT has an initial rail-loading capacity of 60 railcars, and USDG has plans to double rail capacity to 120 railcars by the first quarter of 2012. Available terminal services include unit-train terminalling for up to 60 railcars, railcar fleet and freight services, truck scales, and inventory management.

“US Development Group continues to extend its leadership position in the burgeoning crude-by-rail sector with the addition of our Niobrara Crude Terminal,” says the company. “Strategically located near the developing Niobrara production area, the new terminal gives producers a safe, efficient and flexible way to transport their product to the lucrative Gulf Coast refining and distribution market. The Niobrara facility joins USDG’s St James Rail Terminal and Eagle Ford Crude Terminal as part of a nationwide network of crude oil and related products terminals. USDG, which pioneered the hub concept, is actively developing additional terminal locations for rail movements of oil and condensate from major production areas to refining and distribution centres across North America.”

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