Pipelines continue to replace trucks in the Bakken shale region of North Dakota, the Bismarck Tribune reports:
"The buildout of a pipeline system that likely spells the end of the truck and train boom in the Bakken is continuing.
"The latest in the series involves a short segment of 12-inch pipeline that travels a mere 1.1 miles, but could have a major impact on Bakken crude. The line is being built by the Hess Corp.; and while short, it connects to something long indeed: the Dakota Access pipeline, which travels 1,172 miles to Patoka, Ill. Its maximum overall capacity is listed online as up to 570,000 barrels a day.
"That line, which is being built by Energy Transfer Partners, can ultimately tie North Dakota’s sweet Bakken crude — naturally low in sulfur — to other markets, including Texas, where ExxonMobil announced on Tuesday that it is expanding its ultra-low-sulfur fuel production at the Beaumont Refinery by 40,000 barrels a day.
Read the full story here.