Page 2 ■ Thursday, December 8, 2011


BAKKEN NEWS


Enbridge partnership to make $145M North Dakota investment


BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Enbridge


Energy Partners LP will make an addi- tional $145 million investment in North Dakota to expand crude oil capacity and add a rail car loading facility to ac- commodate the additional volume, the company said Tuesday.


“It allows producers and shippers the ability to con-


tinue to grow their business.” – Enbridge Energy Partners President Mark Maki


The Houston-based petroleum com-


pany, which operates oil pipelines, said that it will increase the holding capac- ity at the Berthold terminal by 80,000 barrels per day and add a double-loop


unit-train facility, oil tanks and other terminal facilities next to its existing fa- cilities. Enbridge Energy Partners has con-


tractual commitments for 70 percent of the rail loading capacity and anticipates it will soon fi nalize agreements for the remaining capacity. Mark Maki, president of the part-


nership, said the project integrates high quality Bakken crude into Enbridge’s expanding portfolio of pipeline projects that access premium markets across the U.S.


“Importantly, it allows producers and shippers the ability to continue to grow their business while Enbridge develops the next phase of pipeline expansions on the Enbridge North Dakota System,” Maki said in a statement. The project is expected to be ready


by 2013. The expansion adds to ongoing ef-


forts by Enbridge to accommodate a boom in oil production in the region. Its Bakken Expansion Program an- nounced in 2010 is aimed at increasing the company’s transport capacity by another 145,000 barrels of oil per day from fi elds in Montana, North Dakota and southeast Saskatchewan. The Bakken Expansion Program is


expected to cost about $370 million for the U.S. projects and about $187 million for the Canadian projects, the company said.


Enbridge Energy Co. Inc., a subsid-


iary of Canada-based Enbridge Inc., has a 24 percent stake in Enbridge Energy Partners. Enbridge Energy Manage- ment holds a 14 percent interest in the partnership and manages its business.


Williams approves unit spinoff TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Williams Cos.


on Dec. 1 said its board approved its pre- viously announced plan to split into two separate companies. The natural gas company disclosed


in October it planned to spin off its ex- ploration and production unit, WPX Energy Inc., dropping an earlier plan for an initial public offering of the business. The split will be done through a


tax-free dividend that will distribute all WPX common stock held by the parent company to its shareholders. Each inves-


tor will receive one share of WPX stock for every three shares of Williams stock held as of 5 p.m. EST Dec. 15. Following the spinoff, WPX will be an independent natural gas and oil ex- ploration and production company, focused on the Piceance Basin in the Rocky Mountains, the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. WPX will also have operations in


Wyoming’s Powder River Basin in Wy- oming and the San Juan Basin in the


southwestern U.S., along with invest- ments in Argentina and Colombia. The company will have approximate- ly 1,200 employees, headquartered in Tulsa, Okla. The spinoff will leave Williams as the


owner of the general partner of pipeline operator Williams Partners LP. Under the spinoff plan, shareholders who sell their Williams stock in the peri- od leading up to the Dec. 31 distribution will also be selling their right to receive WPX shares in the distribution.


PO Box 5516


Bismarck, ND 58506-5516 701-223-2500


www.bismarcktribune.com Bakken Weekly is produced


by the Bismarck Tribune and distributed throughout the Williston Basin.


Fractions of shares will not be dis-


tributed. They will instead be combined and sold in the open market, with pro- cess distributed proportionally in the form of cash payments to each Williams shareholder who would otherwise hold fractional share of WPX. WPX shares will begin trading on the


New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol WPX WI — indicating a “when- issued” basis — on or about Dec. 12. They will trade under the symbol WPX as of Jan. 3.


Publisher


Brian Kroshus Editor


Cathryn Sprynczynatyk


Advertising Manager Kristin Wilson


Layout Design Jean Bertsch


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