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Gibson said Wednesday the U.S. rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline and ongoing delays of the Energy East pipeline, both of which would have linked to Hardisty, “brings to fore” the likelihood of increased usage of rail transport in the near term.

In the latest data posted on its website, the National Energy Board reports 107,000 bpd of crude oil was exported by rail from Canada in December. That’s only 61 per cent of the 176,000 bpd moved in the same month in 2014 and 64 per cent of the 167,000 bpd moved in December 2013.

Hanlon said he expects western Canadian oil production to grow by about one million bpd, mainly from the oilsands, over the next four to five years, providing plenty of opportunity for rail shippers in Edmonton and Hardisty. Gibson loads single cars with crude in Edmonton and at other small-scale terminals in Alberta.

But he added the second key driver for growth is a return to normal Western Canadian Select and West Texas Intermediate prices.

“At $34, with a $16 WCS-to-WTI differential, you’re really talking about a US$16 barrel coming out of Western Canada today and the better part of $10 a barrel to move crude by rail to the U.S. Gulf Coast,” he said. “So that doesn’t leave a lot for the producer.”

Gibson announced a three per cent increase in its quarterly dividend to 33 cents per share, a move that was widely expected by analysts and described as “largely symbolic” by analyst Chris Cox of Raymond James.

The company earned more praise from analysts for its cost-cutting, which included reducing its permanent workforce by 400 to 500 people — or 15 per cent — from the total of more than 2,900 as of the end of 2014.