Bakken

Crude oil from the Bakken Shale isn’t significantly more dangerous than crude from other plays to transport by rail and poses a lower transport risk than other flammable liquids, but it may contain higher amounts of dissolved flammable gases compared to heavier crudes, according to a report commissioned by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM).

The federal government's independent testing of Bakken crude oil's content and chemical composition is ongoing after its launch last fall, and the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) has launched its own testing program. Indications Tuesday were that eventually the government and the industry will share their respective test results.

Enable Midstream Partners LP has secured two more agreements with XTO Energy Inc. to build a second crude oil gathering system, as well as one for produced water, in North Dakota's Bakken Shale.

The multi-billion-dollar Sandpiper Pipeline addition from the Bakken Shale in North Dakota to multiple market connecting points in Minnesota appears to have enough shipper interest to move forward, North Dakota Pipeline Authority Director Justin Kringstad said Thursday.

The need for the multi-billion-dollar parallel Sandpiper Pipeline addition was questioned Tuesday by a Minnesota refinery and customer of the existing North Dakota Pipeline Co. (NDP) oil pipeline from the Bakken Shale.

One week after executives at MDU Resources Group Inc. said the company was looking to drill for oil and natural gas in a third play, their exploration and production (E&P) unit, Fidelity Exploration & Production Co., had agreed to purchase working interests (WI) and a leasehold in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.

Marathon Oil Corp. has not been pursuing a swap or permit arrangement that would allow it to export domestic oil production, CEO Lee Tillman said Thursday. However, the leading Eagle Ford Shale producer is carrying the torch for the pro-export cause and watching attitudes toward crude exports evolve.

The growth of domestic U.S. oil production from places like the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the Uinta Basin in Utah will continue to boost growth of West Coast refining and crude rail operations, according to San Antonio-based Tesoro Corp. CEO Greg Goff.

While it has deemphasized natural gas production, Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group is betting even bigger on oil/gas infrastructure centered in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale play in addition to its stable of four utilities spread over eight states.