Bakken News

How much oil is there?

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 3.65 billion barrels of oil, 1.85 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken Shale Formation of the Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota. ~ geology.com

Resources

Bakken Oil

Hydraulic fracturing drilling (Northern Oil & Gas video)

Bismarck Tribune Bakken news

Bakken Weekly

Bakken Breakout

Western North Dakota news - the Patch Today

Dickinson Press Oil news

"North Dakota is a model that leads the way (in oil production). I think they've stuck a good balance. The model here is not to stop the economic activity, but to appropriately regulate it... The potential is great. This resource in North Dakota, as you know, is huge." ~ Jack Gerard, American Petroleum Institute President & CEO, Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, Bismarck, ND, May 24, 2012. Source: Bismarck Tribune

Business is booming

The oil play in the Bakken formation covers parts of western North Dakota and eastern Montana. Crude oil production in the North Dakota has quadrupled since 2007. As a result of the drilling and production activity, electrical loads are growing rapidly. Basin Electric member cooperatives serve much of that load. For a fact sheet on how Basin Electric and its members are serving the Bakken, click here: Serving the Bakken. In May 2012 North Dakota became the second leading oil-producing state in the nation, trailing only Texas.

Basin in the Bakken

Generation: Basin Electric is building two new power plants in the oil patch to serve the demand for electricity:
- Pioneer Generation Station
- Lonesome Creek Generation Station
Transmission: Basin Electric is in the process of permitting a transmission buildout in order to serve member loads in the Bakken service territories:
- Antelope Valley Station to Neset Transmission Project
- Wiring Up the Wild, Wild West
Infrastructure: Basin Electric's right-of-way staff and member support staff are working in the Bakken on a daily basis to assist in the process of permitting the transmission paths to serve member system loads.

Basin Electric is in the process of permitting a 200-mile, high-voltage transmission line from Antelope Valley Station north of Beulah, ND, to a substation just of Tioga, ND. Depending on approvals of a specific route, the operation date of the proposed $347 million line would be 2016. Regulatory permits must be in place before this can occur.

The Pioneer Generation Station in Williams County, ND, will be a 45-MW gas-fired peaking station, primarily used to support the local transmission system and serve loads developing in the area. It is scheduled for commercial operation in April 2013.

Basin Electric is also building a 45-MW capacity power plant between Alexander, ND, and Watford City, ND. The $64.5-million Lonesome Creek Station will be fueled by natural gas and is scheduled for commercial operation in summer 2013.

Basin Electric senior management and board of directors have toured the Bakken oil patch to better understand that challenges facing our member systems and the oil loads demand for reliable energy. For more information, please check the right column for Bakken news and videos by Basin Electric communications and media support staff.

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