Berkshire Energy Briefs - 1/6/14

A short update on a few energy stories... much more coming tomorrow.

Train Carrying Oil in North Dakota Ablaze After Derailing (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Thousands of North Dakota residents were urged to flee possibly toxic fumes from a fire that engulfed BNSF Railway Co. railcars carrying crude oil after it collided with another train, causing a series of explosions. Two to three railcars were still burning and 1,500 residents living within a five-mile radius of Casselton, North Dakota, heeded warnings to evacuate [...] No injuries to the train crews were reported in the accident that occurred at 2:10 p.m. local time yesterday about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Fargo, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s BNSF said in a statement.

Berkshire acquiring Phillips 66 flow business (WSJ MarketWatch)

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said late Monday it was acquiring the flow improver business of Phillips 66 in exchange for Phillips stock Berkshire already owns. Berkshire owns 27.2 million shares of Phillips, or 4.5% of outstanding shares [...] The unit, Phillips Specialty Products Inc., makes polymers designed to reduce drag and increase the flow potential in pipelines.

Buffett’s year-end bet: Pipelines (WSJ MarketWatch)

Oil production in North Dakota is a relatively new phenomenon made possible by fracking its vast oil-bearing shale formations. Because it’s new, there are few pipelines serving the region, which means about 90% of the state’s crude is being sent to refiners by rail. [...] Buffett’s BNSF doesn’t lose money hauling crude, but pipelines are a far more efficient and safer way to move crude to market. And every train wreck makes it a little easier to get the permits necessary to build the pipelines already proposed, especially to West Coast refineries that historically have had little access to crude from east of the Rockies.

Warren Buffett's $6 Billion Energy Bet (Fool)

Berkshire has more than $6 billion invested in National Oilwell Varco, ExxonMobil, Phillips 66, and ConocoPhillips. Grouped together, these holdings make up almost 8% of Berkshire's portfolio, and would be the fifth-largest single investment, trailing only the "big four" of Wells Fargo, Coca-Cola, IBM, and American Express. What can individual investors take away from this? Should you follow Buffett into oil and gas?