 The bitumen-by-rail project to produce and transport a type of heavy Canadian crude oil to the U.S. Gulf Coast is now fully operational, according to project organizers US Development Group USD and Gibson Energy. USD and Gibson partnered to create a diluent recovery unit DRU to produce bitumen, a crude oil that has been altered in such a way that it can be categorized as a nonhazardous material for transport, per U.S. and Canadian regulatory standards. 