California may get rail to pipeline links

Plains All American Pipeline said it wants to link crude oil pipelines to a railroad facility to help integrate the California refinery market. Chief Executive Officer Greg Armstrong said during a conference call to report third quarter earnings a rail network would be able to transport about 130,000 barrels of oil per day to the Los Angeles and San Francisco refining markets by the middle of next year, the Platts news service reported Tuesday. California is one of the top oil producers in the nation. In 2011, the U.S. Energy Department said the state ranked third in terms of oil refining capacity with a combined 2 million barrels per day from its 20 refineries. Plains, which has headquarters in Houston, said it would work to expand the capacity on its Line 63 pipeline in California to help facilitate the sector's overhaul. The pipeline is designed to transport crude oil from onshore and offshore fields to its Bakersfield, Calif., terminal. Plains' Chief Executive Officer Harry Pefanis was quoted as saying the company was "working hard" to raise rail capacity and increase the carrying capacity of existing pipelines.