A subsidiary of MDU Resources, In. continues to work on a project to bring more natural gas to eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota.
It’s called the Valley Expansion project. WBI would build a 38 mile pipeline to connect the Viking Gas Transmission Company’s pipeline in Felton, Minnesota to the existing Williston Basin pipeline near Mapleton.
"It will add both reliability and redundancy to some of our Eastern North Dakota markets that we currently serve," said MDU President and CEO Dave Goodin. "It will also get more natural gas capacity up and down the Red River Valley."
Goodin said earlier this month, the company filed papers with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, to get the approval for the expansion. He said rights of way are now being looked at, and the company has secured sufficient commitments from users of that gas to go ahead with the project. Goodin said the hope is to get natural gas to some of the communities that don’t have that service.
"It tends to be a disadvantage for those non-served communities as far as attracting business," Goodin said. "We're working on some plans. We're not ready to discuss them, but we're working on hoe we can help those non-served communities natural gas."
the project is estimated to cost $50 million.