Wow -- More Pipeline Activity in the Bakken: ONEOK

ONEOK Partners L.P. has said it plans to build a 525- to 615-mile NGL pipeline, which will transport unfractionated NGLs from the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin in North Dakota, at a cost of about $450 million to $550 million. The new pipeline from the Bakken will hook up to the partnership's Overland Pass Pipeline, a 760-mile NGL pipeline extending from southern Wyoming to Conway, Kansas.

This is a very  timely story, at least for this blog. Just yesterday I opined about the issues surrounding the flaring of natural gas in North Dakota. 

I wonder if the pipeline will run due south through South Dakota and Nebraska to meet up with the Overland Pass Pipeline. The other option would be to run it southwest to Wyoming, which has its own advantages.

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Trivia: the Overland Pass Pipeline is operated by Overland Pass Pipeline Company L.L.C., a joint venture between ONEOK Partners L.P. and a subsidiary of Williams (WMB).  

The 760-mile natural gas liquids project originates in Opal, Wyo., and terminates near Conway, Kan., at one of the nation’s primary natural gas liquids supply and storage hubs.

The natural gas liquids pipeline travels through 23 counties in three states: five in Wyoming, six in Colorado and 12 in Kansas. The pipeline is designed to transport approximately 110,000 barrels per day with the ability to expand capacity to 255,000 barrels per day with additional pump facilities.

By the way, as long as I've rambled this long, on July 26, 2010 -- that would be today -- WMB announced its intention to exercise its option to increase its ownership in the pipeline from 1 to 50 percent.

The Overland Pass Pipeline is a 760-mile natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from Opal to the Mid-Continent NGL market center in Conway, Kansas.

The pipeline, which went into service in November 2008, can transport approximately 140,000 barrels per day with the ability to expand capacity to 255,000 barrels per day with additional pump facilities. The market center in Conway is a primary NGL distribution and storage hub.

There are only two -- only two -- NGL hubs in the US where mixed NGL products are fractionated, or separated, into individual components:

• Mont Belvieu, Texas
• Conway, Kansas (multiple sites: Bushton, Hutchinson, Mitchell, and Conway -- all in the Conway area)

Another BP Quickie

"They" can't find any oil along the coast to clean up.

Unless something suddenly changes or gets worse, this is quickly becoming a non-story. Too bad the federal government just didn't let the experts try to solve this problem from the beginning. 

The government was putting great pressure on BP to remove the "temporary" seal that seemed to be working. Only through the persistence of BP were they allowed to keep the seal in place. Had they removed the seal, hundreds of thousands of more gallons would have spilled into the gulf, making for great video at the site of the spill.

Hmmm....

Update, August 7, 2010: govt scientists say whatever oil is left is quickly being degraded. 
For being the worse spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico, it certainly turned into a non-story. Sure, sequelae to follow, especially political and regulatory, but from the media standpoint: no eye-catching video or stills of oil-covered birds, seals, or polar bears.

Update, August 31, 2010: beaches and water safe enough for baby sea turtles to be released into the gulf. Yes, this is a non-story, but lawyers and politicians will milk it for all it's worth. [A non-story except for the families and friends affected by the 11 deaths which seem to have been forgotten by all.]




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