CenterPoint Energy Bakken Crude Services LLC (CEBCS) said on Tuesday that it has entered into a long-term agreement with XTO Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, to gather XTO’s crude oil production through a new crude oil gathering and transportation pipeline system in North Dakota’s liquids-rich Bakken shale.

CEBCS is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy Inc. The agreement with XTO is the first agreement entered into pursuant to the open season announced by CEBCS on Feb. 19.

Under the terms of this new agreement, which includes volume commitments, CEBCS will provide service to XTO over a gathering system to be constructed in Dunn and McKenzie counties, N.D. The gathering system will have a capacity of up to 19,500 b/d.

CenterPoint Energy Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a domestic energy delivery company that includes electric transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, competitive natural gas sales and services, interstate pipelines and field services operations.

The company serves more than five million metered customers primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. Assets total more than $22 billion. With over 8,700 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 135 years.

–Edgar Ang, eang@opisnet.com