Skip to main contentA new report released today raises questions about a giant crude oil terminal that Tesoro Refining & Marketing LLC and the Savage Companies want to build at the Port of Vancouver, Wash.
The proposed Vancouver Energy Distribution Terminal would allow the transfer of 360,000 barrels of crude oil a day from trains to ships at a new facility on the Columbia River. The terminal would be the largest such facility on the West Coast and would allow for a significant expansion in the amount of crude shipped from North Dakota's Bakken field to the Northwest.
Such an expansion would benefit Tesoro because the company operates a refinery in Anacortes, Wash. and two much larger refineries in Martinez, Calif and Los Angeles. West Coast refineries have historically had fewer options for crude oil supply than those on the Gulf and East Coasts, so the development of train-fed terminals on the Columbia marks a significant diversification.
But a new report by Sightline Institute, a Seattle-based sustainabilty think-tank, says people should be concerned based on Tesoro's history of "flouting safety rules, injuring workers, polluting local air, and meddling in politics." Publicly-traded Tesoro is one of the nation's largest oil refiners.
Here are a few things Sightline points to that might cause residents to raise an eyebrow:
WWeek 2015