WASHINGTON, D.C. –North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC) Vice President Kari Cutting will testify before two U.S. House subcommittees today on the subject of Bakken Petroleum: The Substance of Energy Independence.
In her testimony to the House Subcommittee on Energy and Subcommittee on Oversight, Cutting will address the industry’s safety record and goals, the qualities of Bakken crude, the steps taken by the industry to properly classify and ship Bakken crude oil, and steps taken to ensure emergency responders are prepared to handle any incidences that may occur.

“Three independent studies have now shown that Bakken crude is similar to other North American light, sweet crude oils in gravity, vapor pressure, flash point and initial boiling point,” says Cutting. “According to these studies, Bakken crude oil chemical properties attest to its proper classification as a Class 3 flammable liquid. This category contains most of the valuable fuels and fuel feed stocks offered for transportation in the United States.”

With the increase of Bakken crude being shipped by rail, however, Cutting stressed the industry’s continued commitment to safely handling and transporting this cargo, including its partnership with railroads and local responders to develop a common educational tool to be distributed broadly to fire departments either through web portal or DVDs. This information is available for companies to use in continued interaction with EMS personnel.

The oil and gas industry will also continue development of additional response resources and periodic meetings to keep the lines of communication open to maximize information sharing of the latest data on emergency response for crude and other flammable liquids incidents.

“Hazardous Materials transported by rail arrive safely at their destination 99.997% of the time, but all stakeholders recognize the importance of implementing additional safety measures to reduce the probability of the remaining 0.003%,” says Cutting. “Routing analysis, infrastructure inspection and maintenance, railcar design, and additional training and information for Emergency Management personnel are all efforts being addressed.”

The joint hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Subcommittee will begin at 2:00 p.m. EDT. The hearing may be viewed online at http://science.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-energy-and-subcommittee-oversight-joint-hearing-bakken-petroleum-substance.

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ATTACHMENT: Cutting Testimony

For media inquiries, contact Tessa Sandstrom by email. (I will not be reachable via telephone, so please email with questions).

Since 1952, the North Dakota Petroleum Council has been the primary voice of the oil and gas industry in North Dakota. The Petroleum Council represents more than 525 companies involved in all aspects of the oil and gas industry, including oil and gas production, refining, pipeline, mineral leasing, consulting, legal work, and oil field service activities in North Dakota, South Dakota, and the Rocky Mountain Region. Our members produced 98 percent of the 313.5 million barrels of oil produced in North Dakota last year.

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Rangeland Energy LLC said that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the company to Inergy Midstream LP for $425 million. Rangeland is the owner and operator of the COLT system, the largest open-access crude oil distribution hub in North Dakota.

This could represent Inergy Midstream’s first move into the lucrative crude logistics business segment. Inergy is primarily involved in natural gas liquids and natural gas storage and transportation, according to the company’s website.

The COLT system includes a large crude oil rail loading terminal in Williams County, N.D., and related storage and pipeline assets. The transaction is expected to close in early December.

Founded in 2009, Rangeland is a midstream energy company led by a management team and backed by private equity commitments from EnCap Flatrock Midstream of  San Antonio. Rangeland’s management team will retain the company name and continue to pursue midstream development opportunities across North America.

The COLT system is located in the heart of the Bakken and Three Forks shale oil producing region. The system’s components include the COLT Hub, the COLT Connector and the Dry Fork Terminal.  The COLT Hub serves as a point of liquidity for the distribution of Bakken crude oil throughout North American markets by providing customers with crude oil storage and connectivity to BNSF Railway Company and various inbound and outbound pipeline systems.

The terminal was placed in service in early May 2012. The COLT Hub serves crude oil refiners, marketers and producers and has contracted aggregate volume commitments of approximately 150,000 b/d of crude.

The COLT Connector is a 21-mile bidirectional pipeline that connects the COLT Hub to the Enbridge and Tesoro pipelines at Rangeland’s terminal at Dry Fork near the Beaver Lodge/Ramberg junction, the Banner gathering system and a planned connection to the Bear Tracker Energy gathering system.

Construction of the COLT Hub began in May 2011. With six 120,000-bbl storage tanks and two 8,700-foot rail loops, the COLT Hub accommodates large 120-car unit trains.

Under terms of the agreement, all of the Rangeland employees working in North Dakota will be invited to work for Inergy.

–Edgar Ang, eang@opisnet.com  |  www.opisnet.com