Fargo, ND – The Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company is offering an "open season" for expansion of its pipeline in eastern North Dakota.
Director of Customer Service Cliff Rupnow says the "open season" is a solicitation of interest from potential customers who want to buy firm capacity on the pipeline. The "open season" started Monday, April 28th and ends Monday, May 5th. Rupnow says the company has done this four times before.
"And what we're trying to find out is-what is the real for customers to allow us to interconnect with the Alliance Pipeline, which is a major natural gas pipeline that brings gas down from Canada. We want to see what the market potential is for us to put facilities in place to increase the gas supply in the east end of our system in North Dakota.")
Rupnow says the goal is to raise three to four million dollars in support of the new facilities in eastern North Dakota.
"It's targeted basically to the end-use customers that use natural gas for processing purposes. We have some malting plants and some potato plants. Actually, MDU, the utility, may need some additional supply in that end of the system for the residential loads when the weather gets cold.")
Rupnow says after the "open season" has ended-the company will go back to the customers that showed interest and have them sign long-term transportation contracts that support the construction of facilities that would take the gas from Alliance Pipeline in Valley City. The reason Williston Basin Pipeline is doing this-Rupnow says-is because the market demand for gas and the cold weather from last winter has driven these customers to look for other sources of gas supply.