Do oil companies in the basin sell oil directly from the tank on the surface at the well site? Does it go through a 3rd party between the oil company and the refinery?If I recall correctly, sometime in the past two years, I read that up to 75% all North Dakota oil is still trucked at some point. I don't know if that figure still holds true. I would assume the "some point" is from the well pad to the nearest pipeline terminal or crude-by-rail terminal. Regardless, to answer the question, oil trucked from the site to the terminal (pipeline/rail) is a third party trucker.
I also seem to recall that almost all Spearfish oil in northern North Dakota is trucked into Canada where it goes into a pipeline and returned to the states.
Again, I'm not sure how accurate or current this information is, but those are my thoughts. The reader who sent the question, I'm sure, would appreciate any corrections/updates.
