Takeaway Capacity -- Strained -- The Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA

Update

February 13, 2012: Bradaz has provided some nice data points for price of Bakken crude:

Month     EOG NET     NYMEX     DIFF
Jan 11     80.27             89.58           9.31
Feb 11     80.19            89.74           9.55
Mar 11     92.67          102.98        10.31
Apr 11    105.33          110.04         4.71
May 11    97.21           101.36        4.15
Jun 11     92.67             96.29         3.62
Jul 11      92.81             97.34         4.53
Aug 11    81.85             86.34         4.49
Sep 11    82.40              85.61         3.21
Oct 11     83.18             86.43         3.25
Nov 11    91.74             97.16         5.42
Dec 11    89.93              98.58        8.65

Not particularly concerning.

February 9, 2012: A Canadian oil sands producer temporarily shuts down due to glut.

Original Post

Link here to Investors.com.  Article sent to me by a reader, thank you.

Canadian oil production stocks took some hard hits on Tuesday, but Bakken producers seemed relatively immune after a week of plummeting prices for oil produced in Canada's tar sands and the U.S. Bakken shale.

Bakken crude priced at Minnesota's Clearbrook terminal dropped 24% year-to-date to close at $72 per barrel Monday. Canadian heavy crude, also called syncrude, produced from tar sands fell 28% YTD, dropping 15% in the past week to close Monday at $61.

The reason for the declines? Constraints in pipeline capacity.

My understanding is that Canadian tar sands needs $60 oil.

The Bakken "is robust at $40" -- said some  years ago, but with cost of drilling going up, that number may have shifted upwards.

A lot of comments could be made -- especially about the administration killing the Keystone XL. The congestion will only get worse going forward.

For investors: railroads and pipelines.