Comment period extended for crude oil facility expansion at upstate New York shipping hub

New York regulators have again extended the public comment period for a shipping company's plan to expand crude oil handling operations at the Port of Albany.

The Department of Environmental Conservation said Friday that the comment period on Global Companies' air permit application has been extended an additional 60 days until Nov. 30 to allow more public participation.

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Global wants to add heating facilities at its Albany terminal so it can handle thick, tar-like crude oil of the sort that's being mined in western Canada.

Global and another company, Buckeye Partners, have vastly expanded their Port of Albany operations to handle crude oil shipped by train from North Dakota's Bakken Shale region. Albany has become a key hub for western crude heading for East Coast refineries.