Reality: it never was needed for the Bakken
Keystone XL may not be needed for the Bakken.
Several pipeline proposals that are in the works diminish the importance of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline for North Dakota, according to the state’s public service commissioner.Note: it should be noted that the speaker was talking about the Keystone XL's importance for the Bakken. This is still an important pipeline for Canadian oil and the company proposing it.
.... projects such as the Bakken Crude Express Pipeline proposed earlier this month by Oneok Partners LP ....
That project is one of six pipelines proposed to increase the pipeline capacity out of North Dakota.
Cramer said that while many pipelines have somewhat circuitous routes, he considers the Bakken Crude Express to be the first “bullet line” with a direct route.
It was always my understanding that the Keystone XL was never a major player with regard to the Bakken. TransCanada did not want to include the Bakken in its original plans, and it was only the perseverance of the Montana governor that prompted TransCanada to change its mind. The governor said he would not all the XL pipeline through his state if there was not an "on-ramp" for Bakken oil.
So, in a sense this article does not add anything to the conversation regarding the TransCanada XL or Bakken takeaway capacity for those folks are regularly read the blog, but for others, it helps put things into perspective.
Mixing Bakken light crude with heavy Canadian oil degardes the value of ND oil. The value of pure Bakken will be higher at Cushing than the mixture, especially after new pipelines south from Cushing are available.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't be surprised to see ONEOK partners increasing the pipeline capacity to 300,000 bpd by adding more pumping stations along the route.
You are absolutely correct. I have blogged about that before. Enbridge will only ship Bakken light crude and won't ship other oil.
DeleteONEOK, I believe, has said they plan to expand potential capacity to 900,000 bopd.
Tripling or quadrupling a pipeline's rated capacity is almost impossible. There simply would be pressure for the pipeline's rating and too much friction loss as well as incredible amount of pumping stations added.
DeleteIf ONEOK really wanted to go to 900,000 barrels / day, the pipeline needs to be doubled in diameter while in the planning stage.
You are correct. My bad. My memory failed me. This link explains where I got the 900,000:
Deletehttp://www.pennenergy.com/index/petroleum/display/4924115102/articles/pennenergy/petroleum/pipelines/2012/april/two-new_pipelines.html?cmpid=EnlDailyPetroApril162012
ONEOK's 200,000 bopd, when combined with five other pipeline projects, would provide up to 900,000 bopd capacity coming out of the Bakken.
I will leave my comment up for awhile, but I made delete it down the road so as not to confuse folks. But I'll probably forget that, also.
Thank you very much for taking time to comment and to correct a glaring (an embarrassing) error.