Enbridge line will send Canadian tarsands bitumen from Illinois to Cushing

PEKIN, Ill. - A portion of a proposed $1.9 billion pipeline to carry crude oil from Illinois to Oklahoma before heading south to refineries on the Gulf Coast would cut through parts of Livingston, Woodford, Tazewell, Mason and Fulton counties in Illinois.

Being called the Flanagan South Pipeline, the large-scale project by Alberta-based Enbridge Inc. would parallel much of the oil shipper's already existing 650-mile Spearhead Pipeline from Flanagan to Cushing, Okla., site of one of the nation's largest storage facilities for crude oil.

"We've sent a mailing to county commissioners as well as to landowners who might be impacted by the route," Kevin O'Connor, a spokesman for the project, said on Jan. 26.

"We're going to be out in the next several weeks doing some civil surveys, and eventually some environmental surveys to start to give us a better handle of specifics out on the ground."

O'Connor said the diameter of the pipeline currently being considered is 30 inches. The capacity also is still to be determined. The Spearhead line it would parallel, built in the early 1960s, is a 22-inch to 24-inch pipeline that carries 193,300 barrels per day (b/d), according to the company's website.

Provided the pipeline receives the necessary federal and state approval to proceed, construction could begin as soon as mid-year 2013 and be completed by the following year, O'Connor said. It is unclear how many construction jobs the project would entail.

Great Salt Plains Pipeline construction begins in Oklahoma

TULSA, Okla. - Parnon Gathering has begun construction of its crude oil pipeline in central Oklahoma.

The pipeline, to be named the Great Salt Plains Pipeline, will transport production from central and western Oklahoma and interconnect with Parnon's crude oil tanks located at Cushing, Okla.

The project includes laying approximately 175 km. of new eight-inch diameter pipeline from Cherokee, Okla., to Cushing, Okla., and is designed to move 18,000 b/d of crude oil with an option to up the rate to 35,000 b/d.

Southern Sudan said considering oil pipeline through Ethiopia to avoid North

DUBAI - The breakaway region of Sudan, to be known from July 9 as the Republic of Southern Sudan (RoSS), is planning an oil pipeline through Ethiopia as one of its options for circumvent the 2005 oil sharing agreement with Khartoum, South Sudan’s oil minister Dr. Luol Deng said in Dubai on June 28.

Producing more than 70 per cent of Sudan’s oil, the South Sudanese administration feels the 2005 agreement, which calls for a 50-50 sharing of oil revenue between the two entities, is unfair and cannot be implemented.

However, all the oil refineries, storage facilities and ports lie in the Khartoum controlled territory, which receives the crude through two pipelines.

"Oil sharing has been one of the highly contested issues between us (North and South) and we have had continuous discussion over this. For now we will continue with the current mechanism and use North's facilities, but in the future as we gain independence and pump more oil these two pipelines would be insufficient, that is why we are planning to have another one through Ethiopia," said Dr. Deng.

Koch Pipeline Co. to begin building 16-Inch crude oil pipeline in Texas

WICHITA, Kansas - Koch Pipeline Co., L.P. will create the capacity to move an additional 120,000 b/d of Eagle Ford crude in late 2012.

Koch Pipeline said it has received final shareholder approval to build the new pipeline into Karnes County, Texas.

“This will be our most extensive project to date to connect Eagle Ford producers with refineries in Corpus Christi,” said Kim Penner, president of Koch Pipeline. “It not only allows us to ship more crude oil to Corpus Christi refiners and to the Flint Hills Resources waterborne terminal at Ingleside, but it also improves our efficiency and reliability as this project includes new tanks and a new truck station.”

The new 16-inch line will have future expansion capability of more than 200,000 b/d and include direct pipeline connections to producer tank batteries in Karnes and DeWitt counties. A new station, likely near Helena, will connect into Koch Pipeline’s existing crude system in Pettus and Refugio.

Brad Urban, senior vice president of supply for Koch Pipeline’s affiliate Flint Hills Resources, said: “This project fits well with our plan to process a large volume of South Texas crude oil and condensate at our Corpus Christi refinery as well as move a large volume of those products via the water. We continue to evaluate projects to enhance our Corpus Christi refinery processing capability and believe the majority of what we will refine in the future will be South Texas domestic crude oil and condensate.”

North Dakota PSC gives Bridger OK for 77-mile oil pipeline

BISMARCK, N.D. - Construction will begin during the first week in October on a 77-mile crude oil pipeline project spanning McKenzie, Dunn and Billings counties after the state’s Public Service Commission gave the final OK during a meeting on Sept. 22.

Bridger Pipeline, LLC received the approval from the PSC to construct Four Bears Pipeline, a 12-inch thick steel pipeline system capable of handling 60,000 b/d with the possibility of moving to 110,000 b/d.

The pipeline would begin about 15 miles west of the Four Bears Bridge in McKenzie County, just north of state Highway 23, according to PSC documents.

The pipeline’s southern end would then connect into Bridger’s existing Heart River Pipeline at Skunk Hill Junction located about 18 miles northwest of Dickinson.