Liberty Pipeline

Crude oil production in the Bakken Shale, which slumped after the 2014-15 crash in oil prices, has increased by more than 50% in the past three years, and now tops 1.5 MMb/d. Just as important, producers in the core of the crude-focused play in western North Dakota have been ratcheting down their drilling-and-completion costs and making plans for continued production growth in 2020. Also, midstreamers are addressing a gas processing capacity shortfall that had threatened to slow drilling activity; in addition, some of them are developing crude oil takeaway capacity, including the planned Liberty Pipeline to the crude hub in Cushing, OK. Today, we begin a series on the Bakken’s expanding network of smaller-diameter crude pipelines and their role in further improving the shale play’s economics.

A few months back, we discussed the quandary that crude oil shippers face when deciding whether to commit to proposed new pipeline capacity out of the Bakken and the Niobrara, and from the Cushing, OK, hub to the Gulf Coast. The dilemma boils down to this: more capacity is needed, based on current constraints or projected growth (or both), but there’s some reluctance among shippers to make long-term commitments. Their worries are that production gains might slow and too much takeaway capacity might be built, resulting in bidding wars for barrels at the lease to fill shipper commitments. Well, in recent weeks there’s been a bit of a break in the project logjam; among other things, P66 and its partners have decided to proceed with the construction of both the Liberty Pipeline, from the Bakken and Niobrara to Cushing, and the Red Oak Pipeline, from Cushing to Houston and Corpus Christi via Wichita Falls, TX. And that’s not all. Today, we provide an update on efforts to develop new pipeline capacity from North Dakota and the Rockies to Oklahoma and beyond.