10.29.21

Hoeven: North Bakken Expansion Pipeline will Continue North Dakota's Energy Leadership, Help Lower Energy Costs

Senator Reviews Progress of $260 Million Natural Gas Project’s Construction, Helped Secured Federal Approval

WATFORD CITY, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today reviewed the construction progress of WBI Energy’s North Bakken Expansion Pipeline and discussed with the company’s leadership the project’s benefits, including how the pipeline will support North Dakota’s continued energy leadership and help lower energy costs. The senator also highlighted how the $260 million pipeline project will help to reduce flaring in the Bakken by providing an additional 250 million cubic feet per day of natural gas takeaway capacity for operators in the region.

Hoeven further stressed the need for pipelines like this to support continued growth in domestic energy production, reduce energy costs for homes and businesses and help ensure the U.S. remains energy secure. To this end, Hoeven:

  • Worked to secure federal approval for the North Bakken Expansion Pipeline from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
    • FERC approved the pipeline in June, following a bipartisan effort that Hoeven led pressing the agency to advance critical energy projects like this.
  • Has advanced efforts to streamline the approval process for energy development and related transmission lines and pipelines.
  • Is pressing the Biden administration to end its oil and gas moratorium on federal lands and to move forward with all postponed and future lease sales, consistent with a federal court decision from earlier this year.

“The North Bakken Expansion Pipeline is a win-win for affordable energy and the environment, while also supporting our state as an energy powerhouse,” said Hoeven. “We need more pipelines to get energy to market. North Dakotans, along with the rest of the country, are facing skyrocketing energy bills, and this is just the type of energy development needed to help get utility bills under control. That’s why we worked to advance this project’s approval at FERC and will continue working to provide the tax and regulatory certainty needed for companies to make critical investments like this. It’s through this approach, not through higher taxes and burdensome regulations, that we will ensure access to affordable and reliable energy for American households and businesses, which will also help bring down inflation across the economy.”

Securing Federal Approval

When FERC’s consideration of new pipeline approvals appeared to stall since October 2020, Hoeven made the case to FERC to advance critical projects like the North Bakken Expansion Pipeline. The senator led a bipartisan group of 25 senators in April in calling on FERC to act and review the North Bakken Expansion project and 13 other natural gas pipeline projects pending before the Commission. Additionally, the North Dakota delegation had earlierexpressed their support for the project and urged FERC to take timely action on the project, which had been awaiting FERC consideration since its formal filing in February 2020.

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