USA: Watco Terminal & Port Services and Great Northern Project Development are to build a multi-purpose freight terminal and wagon maintenance workshop 8 km west of South Heart, North Dakota, to support the Bakken shale oil and gas industry.
Work on the South Heart Rail Terminal is scheduled to begin in the first half of this year for opening in in the first quarter of 2015. SHRT would be connected to the BNSF Railway system and equipped to handle dry bulk commodities including frac sand, ceramic proppants and cement, as well as construction materials and equipment for the oil industry.
The Watco Mechanical Services workshop will undertake tank wagon inspection, testing and maintenance, with Watco Compliance Services offering fleet management, engineering and regulatory compliance services.
Announcing the partnership on January 17, Watco said its projections estimate that the US crude oil sector will require an additional 70 000 tank wagons over the next 10 years.
