Ethanol Replaces Crude Oil at Clatskanie Area Port

LONGVIEW (AP) — Global Partners has replaced crude oil with ethanol at its Port Westward terminal near Clatskanie, Oregon, which has reopened for business.

The Daily News reports the terminal closed in January because of plummeting oil prices, and Global Partners laid off more than half its workforce there. Port Westward reopened and began receiving shipments of the flammable gasoline additive this summer.

The Oregon Department of Transportation reported that 95 rail cars carrying ethanol moved along the Columbia County rail line to Port Westward in June.

Trains that previously carried crude oil from Portland to Port Westward had prompted concerns from residents along the 60-mile route about risks of derailment and explosions.

Global Partners' switch to ethanol also comes after it was fined $100,000 last year for handling excessive amounts of crude oil.

The company declined to comment.