Pipeline study says oil should go through ND

A new 169-mile pipeline system running north into Canada has been recommended as the preferred means of transporting crude oil from west-central North Dakota to one of two TransCanada/Keystone transmission pipelines.

The recommendation is contained in a feasibility study, commissioned by the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, and presented in April to the State Industrial Commission. The proposed 12-inch pipeline would take approximately three years to complete, cost an estimated $199 million with annual operation costs of $3.7 million to $4.7 million.

It could transport 55,000 barrels of oil per day with possible future expansion of up to 95,000 barrels per day.

Conducted by Kadrmas Lee & Jackson (KLJ) and Rooney Engineering, the study looked at three alternative routes. “We now have specific information for investors and interested companies to review and analyze,” said Justin Kringstad, pipeline authority director.

“We anticipate a very high level of interest from industry.”

Coal drying plant

State regulators said an environmental group’s complaint against a coal-drying plant in southwestern North Dakota could go ahead after a second company dropped its plans to develop a coal mine nearby.

The state Public Service Commission voted in June to allow the Dakota Resource Council and a group of six landowners who live near the proposed plant to amend their complaint and add new information to it. GTL Energy USA Ltd. is building the plant near South Heart in rural Stark County, about 13 miles west of Dickinson.

Using a method called beneficiation, the plant would remove some of the coal’s water and impurities, thus boosting its energy value and allowing it to burn more cleanly.

Another company, Great Northern Project Development, applied to open a small coal mine near the plant. Landowners and the Dakota Resource Council argued that the drying plant needed a coal mining permit because GTL Energy would process coal from Great Northern’s mine. However, Great Northern withdrew its mining permit last March.

The Public Service Commission’s decision in June means the process may begin again, with the proposed mine no longer a factor in the argument, Cramer said.

Railroad expansion

HURON, S.D. – The Beadle County Rail Authority, which was formed 10 years ago but has been inactive, is being revived at the request of Advance Biofuels, a Huron ethanol plant. Advance Biofuels wants to expand its railroad siding by a total of about 1 mile of track to accommodate rail car storage.

The expansion would cost $1.8 million. The state has more than $2 million available for such projects, but it has to be funneled through a local rail authority.

National rig counts

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States rose by 18 in the last week of June to 917, the second consecutive week for an uptick after months of declines. Of the rigs running nationwide, 687 were exploring for natural gas and 219 for oil, Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday.

Eleven were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, the rig count stood at 1,913. The number of active rigs has increased by 41 in the past couple of weeks, but the U.S. count is still down 55 percent since the end of August as weak energy demand has hampered oilfi eld activity.

Oil prices peaked at almost $150 a barrel in July 2008 before plunging. Benchmark crude for August delivery lost $1.14 cents to $69.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Of the major oil- and gasproducing states, Texas added eight rigs, Oklahoma and Alaska each added two and New Mexico and North Dakota each added one.

California and Louisiana each lost two, Colorado and Wyoming each lost one and Arkansas was unchanged. Baker Hughes has tracked rig counts since 1944. The tally peaked at 4,530 in 1981, during the height of the oil boom. The industry posted several record lows in 1999, bottoming out at 488.

Sioux Falls using electric utility car

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The city of Sioux Falls has begun using its fi rst electric utility vehicle. The car is being used by city water staff. It’s powered by six 12-volt batteries, and made by Fargo-based GEM, a division of Chrysler.

Sioux Falls’ other utility vehicles are powered by diesel fuel. Offi cials estimate the GEM car will save the city $4,700 in its first year and $14,000 over its lifetime.