Mineral Oil - From Pipeline to Rail

Hardly any other industry is as dynamic as the mineral oil industry: geopolitical developments, market volatility and sustainability trends characterise the business and therefore also the logistics flows. With 38 years of railway experience, Thomas Danner knows the industry like no other. Together with Christian Rossmair, who has been with RCG for five years, he heads up the Mineral Oil segment. As Key Account Manager, Judith Oberngruber has a direct line to well-known major customers and ensures the smooth planning and handling of transport operations.

When I think of mineral oil, the petrol station immediately comes to mind...

Christian: That's right! But we come across it in practically all areas of life. From lip balm and plastics in packaging to candles and cleaning products. At the festival, for example, you might use gas for your camping stove, and someone else might be lighting a candle with a lighter. It’s even essential in medicine, for example in the production of ointments or certain pharmaceutical raw materials. People often only think of fuels, but the range is much greater than that.

Very exciting – so what does RCG transport?

Thomas: Our portfolio starts with crude oil from Austrian production and extends to all refinery products. We transport intermediate products such as gas oils or middle distillates and end products such as petrol and diesel. We also transport liquid gas in tank wagons, which is liquefied from refinery operations – not to be confused with liquefied natural gas, which is extracted during drilling and cannot be transported by rail.

What are the challenges facing your industry?

Thomas: Complexity is one of them. There are a certain number of refineries in Europe, and you can't simply switch a refinery on and off; the traffic streams must always flow. In addition, storage capacities are very limited.

Judith: And we are dealing with hazardous goods. Safety is particularly important here. In addition, due to the volatile market, our customers usually want to be able to organise their transport very spontaneously. We serve a wide variety of routes and have hardly any fixed timetables. In my opinion, that is the biggest challenge.

What is the best way for a logistics company to respond to this?

Christian: Flexibility and foresight are the be-all and end-all – and we at RCG are very good at that. We rely on a combination of block train and single wagonload services. This enables us to move large quantities efficiently and also flexibly fulfil individual customer requirements. We also have sophisticated back-up concepts with alternative suppliers, production sites and routes so that we can react quickly to unforeseen developments. In the mineral oil industry in particular, close coordination with customers is essential – we often plan new transports every week. And the supreme discipline is jet fuel transport – this is where absolute precision counts.

Sounds like you’re doing a very exciting and varied job.

Judith: It really is. Every day is different and every new transport is exciting, especially test transports or new routes. One example is a refinery that exclusively produces pharmaceutical raw materials – not a single drop of fuel leaves the plant. This shows how versatile the segment is. The industry is extremely dynamic and there is absolutely never a dull moment.

Is there also a change in terms of sustainability?

Thomas: Yes, definitely. On the one hand, it is particularly important for our customers to be able to organise their logistics chains as sustainably as possible. Secondly, the sector is moving away from the mineral oil industry towards the energy industry. The flow of goods is shifting, new transport routes are emerging – and this will continue to increase in the coming years. The volume is currently still low, but the trend is clearly discernible.

Christian: Examples include Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a vegetable oil treated with hydrogen, and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) which is used in aeroplanes. Here, too, big changes are taking place because aviation is very CO₂-intensive. There is a clear trend towards alternatives based on renewable raw materials instead of fossil fuels. And the logistics of these products should also be as sustainable as possible – in this respect, the railways are, of course, unbeatable compared to other modes of transport.

Mineral Oil – at a glance:

• 9.4 million tonnes total volume (65,000 wagons) per year, of which:
  • 7.4 million tonnes of mineral oil
  • 2 million tonnes of liquid gas
• Organisation of Europe-wide, end-to-end logistics solutions
• Professional consignment and tank wagon management
• Run and inflow control