Hess Corp. said Wednesday it plans to pursue the formation and initial public offering (IPO) for a master limited partnership (MLP) principally tied to its midstream assets in the Bakken Shale play in North Dakota. It expects to make the IPO during the first quarter of 2015.

The MLP is part of Hess’s previously announced strategy to focus on “value creation” and monetizing Bakken midstream assets, along with using the MLP as “a primary midstream vehicle to support Bakken production growth.”

Targeted for the new venture are the Tioga natural gas processing plant. That plant was recently expanded, although the expansion took longer than expected to complete and has had troubles getting to full capacity, according to data from the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

In addition, Hess has identified its Tioga rail loading and truck/pipeline terminals, along with a propane storage cavern and related rail/truck loading/storage terminal in Mentor, MN, as part of the proposed MLP.

“Hess will own the MLP general partner, all of its incentive distribution rights, and a majority of its limited partner interests following completion of the IPO,” Hess said.

As part of its 2Q2014 earnings report in which both net income and adjusted net income were down compared to the same period last year, Hess made the MLP announcement, saying it hopes to file a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the fourth quarter prior to launching the IPO next year.