The director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority said the announcement of a crude oil pipeline to be built from McKenzie County to Baker, Montana shows continued confidence in the Bakken.
The pipeline is proposed by Bridger. It would be a 16 inch line, that could carry 105,000 barrels of Bakken crude per day, expandable to 250,000 barrels a day. Once that oil gets to Baker, it would be taken to either Guernsey, Wyoming or Cushing, Oklahoma.
"Pipeline systems are not built on speculation," said Authority Director Justin Kringstad. "In early 2021, there were some open seasons held for folks to commit to this specific project."
Kringstad said pipelines would not get built unless there are shipper commitments.
"It is encouraging to see these projects move forward, that there's additional confidence in production and the need for new transport options and marketing options out of North Dakota," Kringstad said.
Kringstad said this is the only large-scale oil pipeline project on the docket right now.
