Hiland

Even with the continuing relatively low crude oil prices, new investment has continued to flow to the Bakken Shale, with announcements earlier this month from some new midstream players in the North Dakota shale play.

North Dakota’s Public Service Commission (PSC) has been asked to approve plans to convert a crude oil gathering pipeline into a crude transmission link into a Wyoming hub and other market interconnections.

Enogex Gas Gathering LLC has agreed to sell its natural gas gathering assets in Kinta, OK, to a subsidiary of Hiland Partners LP for $93 million. The assets include 568 miles of gas gathering pipeline and 23 compressor units with current volumes of approximately 145 MMcf/d, all in eastern Oklahoma. “The sale of these assets comes after careful analysis and is part of our repositioning and growth strategy,” said Danny Harris, COO of parent company Enogex Inc. “We expect this action to help us improve our long-term financial performance and position us to expand into other geographic areas of operation.” The transaction is expected to provide an after-tax book gain of $34 million and is currently scheduled to close by the end of April. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory reviews.