Facilities

The railroad transportation of Bakken oil supplies continues to grow, and transporters are investing in new facilities on a pace with pipeline takeaway growth, according to the latest statistics from the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and the state pipeline authority.

NuStar Logistics LP, an affiliate of NuStar Energy LP, is holding a binding open season for firm priority space to transport crude petroleum from the Niobrara Shale near Platteville and Watkins, CO, to Wichita Falls, TX.

The extent of the risks associated with development of shale oil and natural gas is “unknown” because existing studies have not taken into account the potential long-term, cumulative effects of the activity, according to a new report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last Tuesday. The agency in a companion report did not make any recommendations to change environmental and public health requirements in light of advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. and S.H. Bell Co. are planning a new silica sand storage facility in East Liverpool, OH, to support growing demand from oil and natural gas customers in the Marcellus and Utica shales, the companies said.

FERC has approved Southern Natural Gas Co. LLC’s (SNG) request to abandon nearly 20 miles of pipeline and associated facilities in Alabama to comply with a correction action order issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to address the hazards associated with wrinkle bends, which led to a failure on SNG’s system in late 2009.

FERC has approved Southern Natural Gas Co. LLC’s (SNG) request to abandon nearly 20 miles of pipeline and associated facilities in Alabama to comply with a correction action order issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to address the hazards associated with wrinkle bends, which led to a failure on SNG’s system in late 2009.

Pipeline corrosion, material failure and aging facilities are the major safety-related problems that pipelines and local distribution companies face.

Dallas-based Bridger Logistics LLC, a division of Bridger Group LLC, plans to join Midland, TX-based Advantage Pipeline LLC in developing its Pecos River Pipeline project, which will transport oil from the Delaware Basin to markets in the Gulf Coast and Midland. The pipeline will originate near Pecos, TX, and terminate in Crane, TX, where it will connect to the Longhorn Pipeline — owned by Magellan Midstream Partners LP — and Centurion Pipeline LP’s Crane Station. Once fully operational, the pipeline will have an initial capacity of 150,000 b/d and consist of more than 75 miles of trunkline. Bridger Transfer Services LLC will develop lateral extensions, gathering stations, origination stations and truck offloading facilities. The pipeline is scheduled to be operational by 1Q2013.

A series of recent decisions by regulators and moves by operators of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities indicate the logjam of LNG exports may be easing.