CHEYENNE, Wyo., April 12 (UPI) -- A pipeline planned from North Dakota could help ease a bottleneck that's developed from the regional oil boom, an official said.
Oklahoma natural gas company Oneok Partners announced plans for a 1,300-mile pipeline from oil deposits in North Dakota to the Cushing hub in Oklahoma. The project could carry as much as 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Wyoming Pipeline Authority Executive Director Brian Jeffries told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle newspaper in Cheyenne, Wyo., there was a lack of pipeline capacity in the region.
"Principally, the Bakken growth has filled up the pipelines in this area, so oil sells for a discount compared to the oil in Cushing," he said.
With the new proposal, investors should start rushing into the region.
"You start to unlock the whole bottleneck all the way from Wyoming to the Gulf Coast," he said.
The proposal from Oneok would be the sixth such project for the area. Most crude oil shipped from North Dakota is transported by rail.
"Ultimately, it will be up to the industry to decide which of the various projects it wants to support," Justin Kringstad, director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, was quoted as saying.
