Oil-sands crude sails from B.C., sidestepping federal ban

A Canadian law barring oil tankers from the northern coast of British Columbia hasn’t stopped crude from setting sail there. Two Calgary-based companies, Melius Energy and BitCrude, are exploiting a loophole in the law passed this summer -- by shipping semi-solid bitumen mined from oil sands on a cargo ship rather than in liquid form on an oil tanker. About 130 barrels of bitumen left Prince Rupert, B.C., on Saturday bound for a refinery in China, according to Cal Broder, founder of both companies and chairman of BFH Corp. He declined to name the cargo’s buyer.-- More...