Another Great Example Of State, Pipeline Operators, Surface Owners Working Together To Get Something Done; Talk Of A Bakken Bust Seems Premature; Another $80 Million Project -- Ho, Hum -- October 16, 2015

This story sent to me by a reader. Thank you.

The Bismarck Tribune is reporting:

A year from now up to 100,000 barrels per day of more Bakken crude oil will be moving through pipelines to refineries across the country.

The crude’s movement by pipeline in McKenzie County became a reality Wednesday by a vote of the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

NST Express LLC, which is part of The Woodlands, Texas-based NorthStar Midstream, plans to build a 12-inch diameter crude oil pipeline in McKenzie County. The company’s application was submitted in May. [Submitted in May; approved in October; under a river; four months to review and approve]

“This is a 23-mile pipeline in the heart of the Bakken,” commission chairwoman Julie Fedorchak said. “Everything was pretty straightforward so we were able to turn it around pretty quickly.”

Fedorchak said the pipeline would have a maximum capacity of 100,000 barrels per day of crude oil.

Oil would be transported from a new gathering facility called the NST Express Alexander Facility about 9 miles north of Alexander to its NST Transload East Fairview Facility a half-mile north of East Fairview, near the Montana state line.

Other data points:

• at 23 miles and a million dollars/mile, I estimated the cost at $25 million; in fact, it will be $60 to $80 million
• will go under the Yellowstone River; will be at least 50 feet below the river
• six pipeline interconnects
• four offload skids for trucks
• a pump station
• three crude storage tanks with a capacity of 50,000 bbls each (150,000 bbls total) 

I apologize for being so inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, but here's another little Bakken project -- only 23 miles long, only 12 inches in diameter, but it's going to move 100,000 bopd out of the Bakken. Not trivial. And it's another $80 million project. When I was growing up in Williston a project this size would have been a big, big deal. In western North Dakota, it's just another footnote.

Now, for the rest of the story -- with photographs. Here's the website for the Northstar Transload East Fairview Facility. When you see the BNSF locomotives, think Warren Buffett. And all those trains going through MSP if the state of Minnesota keystones the Sandpiper.

In case the link is ever broken, here is a snapshot of the transloading facility in East Fairview:

The NorthStar Transloading Bakken terminal is a 400-acre rail-and-truck transportation hub serving the oil and gas industry. It is located outside East Fairview, a town in North Dakota’s McKenzie County that sits on atop the Bakken Shale play. McKenzie is among the most productive oil-producing counties in the United States.

The inbound/outbound terminal receives and stores the crucial incoming dry goods needed for oil-drilling sites, including sand, cement and construction equipment. Abundant unload racks take in crude that has been brought in by trucks from nearby wells. That fuel is then stored in onsite tanks until it can be placed onto awaiting trains. The terminal’s outbound rail services then ships the fuel to market.

Key Services

• The terminal provides unit and manifest train switching and transloading services. It currently has 14 rail tracks feeding off the main BNSF line to handle all inbound and outbound operations.

• The terminal’s 12-station truck unloading facility removes fuel from tanker trucks and pipes it into onsite storage tanks.

• Five onsite storage tanks have a combined net capacity of 515,000 bopd.

• A planned on-site pipeline interconnect facility will gather fuel from the Alexander Hub, 20 miles away. After fuel is received via the interconnect, it will be transferred over to the terminal for rail shipment. [This is the press release above.]

• The facility includes abundant indoor and outdoor storage for railcars, sand and other needed materials.

Williston is about 35 miles to the northeast of Fairview. East Fairview is on the North Dakota side of the Montana-ND state line. By the way, the best pizza in the world -- I'm not kidding -- can be found at the Powder Keg in East Fairview. Soft serve ice cream for dessert is free (Facebook).  I had the opportunity to ride shotgun transporting sugar beets during harvesting season some years ago. From personal experience, I know how dangerous that intersection (seen below) is. [Later: see comment below: a reader suggests that this intersection will be re-designed as a large (truck-sized) round-about like the one they have in/near Killdeer -- which, for those interested, can be seen on the Google satellite map]:

Don't let me be misunderstood about my inappropriate exuberance for the Bakken:

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, The Animals