The Week's Top Energy Stories For North Dakota -- March 18, 2018

From ndenergy.org, the week's top North Dakota energy stories.

Lynn Helms: we need another pipeline

North Dakota oil production is on pace to break the state's previous record, and that means additional crude takeaway capacity will be needed soon.

"Natural gas wise, we're blowing the lid off this thing," he said. "We really are struggling to figure out what to do with all that gas."

Helms said North Dakota producers now have to undercut Canadian suppliers to get their natural gas in a pipeline. But by 2026, there will be so much Bakken gas the pipelines will all be full. Current production is about 2.1 billion cubic feet per day, but Helms expects that total will eventually double.

Bakken investment could hit $700 billion

North Dakota's oil and gas industry has already invested $127 billion in the state, but industry regulators say there's much more to come.

Lynn Helms, Director of the Department of Mineral Resources, predicts that over the life of the play, total investment will approach $600-to-700 billion.

"If this was a football game, we're just coming to the end of the first quarter," Helms said, "so most of the game is still in front of us."

Watford City schools need more teachers

Blogged previously: PSC approves two major projects

CENEX pipeline

The ND Public Service Commission has given the go-ahead to Cenex to upgrade a diesel fuel pipeline between Sidney, Montana and Minot, North Dakota.

The existing 150-mile, eight-inch diameter pipeline will be replaced with a 10-inch line. The upgraded infrastructure will allow Cenex to expand the carrying potential of the pipeline to 60,000 barrels a day from the initial upgraded level of 38,000 bbl/day.  

Arrow Bear Den gas plant

The ND Public Service Commission has approved a construction permit for the Arrow Bear Den Gas Processing Plant II near Watford City. 

The permitting process began in November 2017 to support Crestwood Arrow's gathering system on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. A new 25-mile long pipeline will bring product to the plant.

The Phase 2 expansion is expected to cost approximately $195 million and be in service by the third quarter of 2019.