Two new pipelines that cost $4.78bn to build started services, transporting domestic crude oil from the Bakken/Three Forks production areas in North Dakota, US.
The Dakota Access pipeline (Dakota Access) and the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline (ETCO), collectively the Bakken Pipeline, are in commercial service under the committed transportation service agreements through their respective pipeline systems.
Dakota Access and Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company own the Bakken Pipeline, which is a 1,872-mile system that transports domestically produced crude oil from the Bakken/Three Forks productions areas in North Dakota to a storage and terminalling hub outside Patoka, Illinois, and/or down to additional terminals in Nederland, Texas.
The Dakota Access and ETCO pipeline systems have commitments that include shipper flexibility and walk-up, for about 520,000 barrels per day.
The Bakken Pipeline is a joint venture between Energy Transfer Partners, MarEn Bakken and Phillips 66. Energy Transfer holds a 38.25% stake, MarEn Bakken has a 36.75% while Phillips 66 holds the remainder 25% in the joint venture.
Built at $3.8bn, the 1,172 mile and 30-inch Dakota Access pipeline runs through the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. Crude oil transported through the pipeline is sourced from six terminal locations in the North Dakota counties of Mountrail, McKenzie and Williams.
The crude oil from the Dakota Access pipeline is delivered to a hub outside of Patoka where it can be supplied to the ETCO pipeline for delivery to the Gulf Coast. Alternatively, it can be also be transported through other pipelines for the Midwest markets.
The 700-mile and 30-inch ETCO pipeline on the other hand is a natural gas pipeline from Patoka in Illinois to Nederland in Texas where the crude oil is refined or further transported to more refining markets.