Oil and gas storage: news update

Dakota Plains Holdings

Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc. has announced that its Board of Directors and joint venture partner have approved the expansion of oil storage at the Pioneer Terminal in New Town, North Dakota. Construction of a third 90 000 bbl storage tank is set to immediately commence; regulatory permits and engineering design are complete and Dakota Plains expects the storage tank to be operational by summer 2015.

The Pioneer Terminal is located in the heart of the Bakken and Three Forks formations and currently has sustainable throughput capacity of 45 000 bpd of oil with onsite storage of 180 000 bbls. The addition of a third storage tank, recently announced Hiland Partners gathering pipeline, and anticipated expanded rail service will facilitate increasing the sustainable throughput rate to a unit train per day, equivalent to 80 000 bpd of oil.

Gabe Claypool, President and COO, Dakota Plains said, ‘the Pioneer Terminal is a safe, low cost service provider with state of the art technology. We expect a reduction in unit costs as we expand, and we are discussing steps to bring outsourced operations inhouse for additional efficiency. Construction of the new storage tank will commence immediately but will be suspended during the winter months and resumed in the spring. We built the Pioneer Terminal safely, on time, and under budget and expect to do the same with this storage tank by utilising the same experienced personnel who built the first two storage tanks.’

Pembina

Pembina Pipeline Corporation has announced that it has selected the site for its planned West Coast propane export terminal project. At the end of August, Pembina entered into an agreement with the Port of Portland, Oregon that sets forth the terminal site, which includes an existing marine berth, located within the city of Portland for the development of the project. The terminal agreement also outlines the material commercial lease terms for the West Coast Terminal. Most importantly, the agreement enables Pembina to begin the process of engaging and consulting with the neighbours of the project and other stakeholders within the city of Portland, municipal, state and federal governments, and all applicable environmental and regulatory authorities.

Under the agreement, Pembina will continue to progress detailed engineering work, undertake extensive environmental and regulatory reviews and assessments and, together with the Port, begin the process to obtain all the required permits and approvals for the development of the West Coast Terminal.

Mick Dilger, Pembina’s President and CEO said, ‘signing the Terminal Agreement is a tremendous milestone for the project. It marks the beginning of consulting and engaging with stakeholders, governments and the environmental and regulatory authorities. Building trust with the communities where we operate is a top priority for Pembina and over the last 60 years, we have developed a reputation for honesty, transparency and treating our stakeholders with respect. Ongoing dialogue with our stakeholders is an integral part of what we do and is the most important step in any development process. We are looking forward to our conversations with the neighbours of the project.’

Trafig

Trafig AG has announced that it has signed an agreement for the sale of 80% of its membership interests in the entity which holds its South Texas midstream assets, Trafigura Terminals LLC, to Buckeye Partners, L.P., experts in the transportation, storage and marketing of liquid petroleum products. The total transaction value agreed was US$ 860 million before customary post closing adjustments. Closing of the transaction is subject to pending regulatory approval. Trafigura AG will maintain a 20% interest in Trafigura Terminals LLC and retain commercial rights to use all of the assets which include; Texas Dock & Rail, EF90, and Trafigura Field Services.

Jeff Kopp, Head of North American Trading, Trafigura AG, said, ‘this transaction demonstrates the value of our infrastructure investments in South Texas. Buckeye is an ideal partner for us as they have been operating midstream assets for over 125 years and they currently operate approximately 6000 miles of pipeline and more than 120 terminals in the US and the Caribbean. Trafigura will continue to provide marketing and transportation solutions to the producing community and combined with our other splitter investment in Corpus Christi we believe we are well positioned to provide maximum optionality to the market in South Texas.’

Edited from various press releases by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/03092014/oil-gas-storage-news/