August 2014, Vol. 241, No. 8

Projects

Energy Transfer Partners Board Approves 1,100-Mile Bakken Pipeline

Energy Transfer Partners’ Board of Directors has approved building the 1,100-mile Bakken Pipeline to transport crude supply from strategic receipt points in the Bakken/Three Forks production area in North Dakota to Patoka, IL where the Bakken Pipeline will interconnect with the company’s existing 30-inch Trunkline Pipeline, which is being converted from natural gas to crude transportation service.

From Patoka, shippers can access multiple markets, including Midwest and East Coast markets by rail as well as the Gulf Coast, via Trunkline, to the Nederland, TX crude oil terminal of Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P. Energy Transfer will develop a rail terminal facility in Illinois to access East Coast refineries.

ETP has secured multiple long-term binding contractual commitments from shippers to fully support construction of a 30-inch pipeline to Patoka. The pipeline will provide 320,000 bpd of capacity. ETP could increase capacity of the Bakken Pipeline based on additional customer demand. The company has begun ordering steel and negotiating construction contracts for the Bakken Pipeline and expects to have the pipeline built and in service, and the Trunkline crude oil conversion project completed and in service, by the end of 2016. ETP is in discussion with SXL regarding a significant equity participation by SXL.

ETP’s directors also approved building a pipeline to transport natural gas from processing facilities located in the prolific Marcellus and Utica Shale areas to numerous market regions in the United States and Canada. In conjunction with this announcement, ETP announced signing long-term agreements with multiple shippers and launching a binding open season.

The natural gas pipeline is sized to transport 2.2 Bcf/d, however, depending on additional shipper commitments, the project likely will be expanded to transport up to 3.25 Bcf/d. The first 400 miles of the project will enable the flow of gas from processing plants and interconnections in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to points of interconnection with Energy Transfer’s existing Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line and another Midwest pipeline near Defiance, OH.

Additionally, a 195-mile segment will be built from the Defiance area through Michigan and ultimately to the Union Gas Dawn Hub (Dawn) near Sarnia, Canada, providing producers with access to diverse markets and end-users in Michigan and Canada with access to Marcellus and Utica supplies.

Plans call for initial service to the Midwest Hub located near Defiance and Gulf Coast markets by the 4Q 2016, and the remaining service to markets in Michigan and Canada by the 2Q 2017.