Location of Stateline I: ONEOK's CRYO Facilty Northwest of Williston, North Dakota

This is really quite cool.

The other day a reader asked me the location of the new ONEOK cryo facility northwest of Williston, North Dakota, known as Stateline I. This facility is scheduled to be completed this year (2012) and its sister facility should be completed in 2013. I do not know where Stateline II is located relative to Stateline I.

It turns out one can see the facility on Google/Maps/satellite view taken when the facility was in the early stages of construction. I was testing the retinal resolution on the iPad at the Boston Apple store last night and used the opportunity to see if I could find the new natural gas gathering and processing plant.

And yup, there it was.

It's almost exactly 6.0 miles north of US Highway 2 on County Road 5: specifically it's at the northeast corner of 151st Avenue NW and 56th Street NW, Williston, ND. Based on the stage of construction and the fact that there is no snow on the ground, it is most likely the satellite photograph was taken last autumn.

One can also see the early stages of construction of the Baker Hughes complex west of Williston.

Random Update on Economic Impact to Local Economy -- Minot AFB, North Dakota

Link to Minot Press story here.

The base has had a steady growth in population since 2007, mainly due to the addition of the 69th Bomb Squadron, the base's second B-52 squadron.

Economic impact to local economy:

• 2011: $493 million
• 2010: $514 million

• 2011: 5,232 lived-base (base's family housing project completed)
• 2010: 5,885 lived off-base

B-52: maiden flight - 1952 -- celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

Note to My Granddaughters

I can't recall the language requirements any more, but suffice it to say I took one or two years (I forget) of Latin in middle school and two years of German in high school. In college I took two years of German. I signed up for and started first year French after the second year of German. Both Latin and German "made sense." Latin was a "dead language" so we didn't have to learn to speak it; that knocked off about half the challenge, for me. German was easy in that one pronounced words pretty much like they appeared. But, wow, French. It seemed like half the letters weren't pronounced. I never got it. On top of that my instructor was a mousy little Frenchman with a speech impediment. French was his native language but teaching was not his forte. I dropped out before three weeks was up to prevent from getting an incomplete (or worse) if I dropped out later.

And that is what led me to post this little note and embed. Had Marie Laforet been my French instructor I might be fluent in French today. Or not. Her enthusiasm would have been contagious. And no speech impediment.

Viens, Viens, Marie Laforet

Random Note on Saddle Butte's High Prairie Pipeline Project -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Updates

July 13, 2012: another link to same story that Enbridge won't let this new pipeline tie in with its operations; I don't think there is anything new at this link

 May 31, 2012: pipeline could be scrapped. Enbridge won't let this pipeline tie in with its operations at Clearbrook, MN. Enbridge says that pipeline connector is reserved for Canadian oil sands oil

Original Post

Before going to the linked story below, go back to this link to familiarize yourself with Saddle Butte Pipeline. In addition, you can search this site for more posts regarding Saddle Butte.

The Minot News posted a story about this new pipeline; there may be some new information in it, but it appears to be very similar to my February, 2012, posting.

Saddle Butte Pipeline announced recently it is seeking commitments from shippers to determine whether or not to proceed with construction of the High Prairie Pipeline, a 450-mile system of 16-inch diameter pipe capable of transporting 150,000 barrels per day to Clearbrook, Minn.

Saddle Butte currently operates a gathering system - a system that transports oil or gas from the wellhead to a transportation point - on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

As part of the High Prairie Pipeline project, Saddle Butte is also proposing construction of two laterals.

One lateral, 17 miles in length, would originate in Johnson's Corner in McKenzie County, while the other, an eight-mile lateral, would start near Robinson Lake in Mountrail County. Those laterals would connect to the High Prairie Pipeline.

In addition, Saddle Butte says it is considering several truck receiving stations and interconnect points along the route of the pipeline.

CLR, Horizontal Drilling, and EOR in Older Fields

Nothing new in this article on horizontal drilling in the Bakken and EOR in Oklahoma, but the link, sent to me by Don, reminded me I need to link the Oklahoma news site at the sidebar at the right.

Slowly But Surely -- Reaching a Tipping Point -- Natural Gas

"Anon 1" called attention to a couple of important stories regarding natural gas:

Navistar and Clean Fuels ink deal.

Natural gas will become a more popular fuel for commercial trucks if Navistar International and Clean Fuels Corp. can help it, and they intend to.

T. Boone Pickens, the oilman-turned-gas promoter whose BP Capital owns Clean Fuels, joined Navistar executives to announce a deal yesterday morning at the truck builder's new headquarters in Lisle, Ill.

The agreement will see Navistar building more International trucks with natural gas engines, while Clean Energy will build more filling stations for truckers who commit to using the comparatively inexpensive and increasingly abundant fuel.

Same story, different source.

Ustian – joined by T. Boone Pickens, chief investment officer for BP Capital Management, Andrew Littlefair, president and CEO of Clean Energy, Jim Hebe, Navistar’s senior vp-North American sales operations, and Jerry Moyes, president of Swift Transportation – revealed that this new business alliance will require fleet customers to buy natural gas fuel under contract from Clean Energy for a set period of years as well as lease natural gas-powered trucks from Navistar.

In return, fleets avoid paying the often significant five-figure premium charged for natural gas-powered trucks versus their diesel-powered brethren – charges that can range from $27,750 to over $72,000 per unit, depending on the vehicle’s class, according to recent study by global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

Even after accounting for the cost of the contracted fuel price and truck leases under the program, Navistar’s Hebe contends that fleets should still recoup savings from the lower cost of natural gas versus diesel on the order of 50 to 70 cents per gallon.

Slowly but surely reaching a tipping point -- when a trucker can be assured of finding natural gas on any interstate.  And unlike automobiles, trucks have a longer range when fully fueled, requiring fewer refueling stations on any given cross-country segment. My hunch is truck stop operators don't want to be left out.

Years ago there was a fairly important truck stop west of Williston, but it did not offer truckers the amenities they could find at truck stops in Fargo and Minot. Over time truckers increased their range, and simply bypassed the truck stop in Williston for better spots down the road. Likewise with natural gas, at some point, truck stops will be missing the action if they don't offer natural gas.

I haven't been following the Pickens - Congress natural gas issue, but the Pickens bill was not passed by Congress. But the government provides huge tax breaks for those who buy the ill-fated GM Chevy Volt. I don't get it. Well, actually I do.

Out And About Today -- Blogging Delayed

I will post comments perhaps, but replies to comments and further blogging will be later this evening.