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Manufacturing's Winner & Loser Of The Week

This week we have a winner and loser both from the oil sector.

This week we have a winner and loser both from the oil sector. The winner is a company who is developing an innovative factory in North Dakota. While the loser, owns a pipeline that leaked a significant amount of oil into the California coastline. 

Winner

Liberty Resources — a Denver based company — is working on constructing a state-of-the-art new oil processing facility in North Dakota. But it isn’t just the physical factory making this company the “Winner of the Week,” it is what the factory will enable. According to Liberty chief Chris Wright, this new facility will enable the company to still make money when crude oil is being sold at $50 a barrel.

The factory will cost approximately $800 million dollars and has been dubbed Stomping Horse. The goal is to connect 96 wells spanning 10,000 acres to the factory, while having the ability to stop and start output depending on prices. The facility is also creating its own infrastructure, with the development of pipelines to support the oil, natural gas, water and waste.  

While it is expensive, Wright explained to the Wall Street Journal that he expects many will eventually follow suit with projects like this.

Loser

This week, the loser is Plains All American — the company who owns the pipeline that leaked oil in the California surf.  

The leak happened on Tuesday night when a pipeline ruptured and seeped crude into a storm drain for hours. It is estimated that 105,000 gallons of crude oil pooled into a culvert that leads to the Pacific Ocean near Goleta. The wind shifts also contributed to the slick shifting several miles toward Santa Barbara as well.

The company released a statement saying, “Plains deeply regrets this release has occurred and is making every effort to limit its environmental impact.”

The reason the pipeline leaked is still unknown, however Rick McMichael told CNN that “Line 901 was not operating at capacity before or during the release.”

As of now cleanup efforts are underway, but it will be a long battle. "It's a continual effort," added U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer David Mosley. "It's not something that we can say, 'Yeah, we are hitting it out of the park,' but it's something our guys are dedicated to."

On Thursday, it was reported that 7,770 gallons of contaminated water had been skimmed from the Ocean.

The spill is reportedly the largest one the area has seen in years. To see how the clean up is progressing, check out the video below: 

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