Atlas Oil Company has begun transloading crude oil for a major refiner at its newest transloading facility in Odessa TX. In its initial phase, Atlas is transloading 30,000 barrels per month, but the site is expected to handle up to 90,000 barrels a month in the future.
“This is an extremely exciting new business opportunity for Atlas,” said Sam Simon, chief executive officer and owner of Atlas Oil. “We are always looking for ways to add value to our customers and this is a prime example of how you can take a customer need and put some fresh thinking and ingenuity into the process to come up with a great solution.”
The crude oil is being brought in through a third party from a well site in West Texas. Atlas transfers the crude oil into rail tankcars for shipment to the southern Texas market. In the past, crude was trucked to terminals but capacity was limited and freight charges were increasing. Transloading onto rail cars has proven to be more efficient and cost effective. Previously, there was no available track space in Odessa, but Atlas identified the need and obtained the necessary rail space to accommodate this new business operation.
The Atlas Odessa transloading site is a multi-function facility, allowing for transloading of both crude as well as renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. It is the third transloading site owned and operated by Atlas; the other two are located in Albuquerque NM and La Feria TX and are currently handling ethanol and biodiesel.
Atlas Oil is a national fuel supply and distribution company. With 24/7/365 operations, Atlas Oil meets the fuel and service needs of businesses, municipalities and government agencies in 23 states. The company also supplies fuel to nearly 400 gasoline convenience stores throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.