North Dakota has seen interest in new gas pipeline construction, with WBI Energy Transmission and Intensity Infrastructure Partners both holding open seasons since December ’24 for intrastate pipelines. The target behind these projects is a bit of a mystery though.
East Daley follows regional market developments in the Bakken Supply & Demand Report. WBI’s Bakken East Pipeline project held a non-binding open season aimed at addressing increasing demand in central and eastern North Dakota. The project would transport ~750 MMcf/d from the Bakken to the eastern edge of the state and has potential interconnects with the Northern Border, Alliance and Viking systems (see project map).
The Intensity Pipeline project would transport gas along a similar route. However, it would move 1.5 Bcf/d from west to central North Dakota before decreasing in size from 42 to 30 inches from the central to eastern side of the state. Though Intensity’s binding open season mentioned no prospective interconnects, the project likely has similar interconnectivity as WBI’s Bakken East Pipeline.
One driver behind these projects could be data centers. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported last year that North Dakota had the fastest relative growth in commercial electricity generation from 2019 to 2023, largely due to data center buildouts.
In the Data Center Demand Monitor, East Daley is only tracking four announced data center projects in North Dakota with estimated demand of ~82 MMcf/d (see map from the Data Center dashboard). But developers will often approach multiple potential partners about large projects prior to their announcement, which may have spurred these open seasons.
Another intriguing option is a potential interconnect with Viking Gas Transmission. Viking currently delivers gas from the Canadian border into Minnesota and Wisconsin before terminating ~100 miles from Guardian, which runs south toward Chicago. Both pipelines were recently purchased by DT Midstream (DTM) from ONEOK (OKE), and it’s possible the open seasons reflect interest from DTM in expanding Viking or interconnecting with Guardian through greenfield expansion to create a new route to transport more Williston gas to the Chicago area. Both projects aim to enter full service by 2030. – Ian Heming Tickers: DTM, OKE.
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