Enbridge Energy Partners LP announced that it is undertaking a series of projects, totaling approximately $90 million, to expand the gathering capacity on its North Dakota system by 100,000 barrels per day. The company has named the initiative the Bakken Access Program .
This upstream expansion project is expected to be in service by early 2013, and it involves increasing pipeline capacities, construction of additional storage tanks, and the addition of truck access facilities at multiple locations in western North Dakota.
"This expansion project substantially enhances our gathering capabilities on the western side of our North Dakota system and complements our 120,000 bpd Bakken Expansion Program, which is being undertaken with significant term capacity commitments," says Mark Maki, president of the Partnership. "Production forecasts from the prolific Bakken and Three Forks formations have recently doubled, accompanied by a corresponding increase in drilling activity. We are very excited about the Bakken Access Program, which will enable the Partnership to continue to provide attractive transportation options to our customers in the Bakken and Three Forks formations.”
Enbridge Energy Partners owns and operates a diversified portfolio of crude oil and natural gas transportation systems in the United States. Its principal crude oil system is the largest transporter of growing oil production from western Canada, according to company officials. The system's deliveries to refining centers and connected carriers in the United States account for approximately 13% of total US oil imports; while deliveries to Ontario, Canada satisfy approximately 70% of refinery demand in that region. The Partnership's natural gas gathering, treating, processing, and transmission assets, which are principally located onshore in the active US Mid-Continent and Gulf Coast area, deliver approximately 2.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily.