preview

The North Dakota Oil Pipeline Essay

Better Essays

The North Dakota oil pipeline, also known as the Bakken pipeline project, is a controversial underground pipeline development in the United States initiated in the year 2014. It is an access pipeline scheme approximated to run over 1,172 miles or 1886 km underground with 30-inch diameter pipeline from the Bakken oil field in North Dakota to Patoka in Illinois. The plan of the project is that the construction should be in a somewhat straight line from North Dakota, through South Dakota, Iowa to Illinois, with a completion time estimated to be by the end of the fourth quarter of 2016. The projected budget for the accomplishment of North Dakota oil pipeline is $3.7 billion raised through loans and shareholders’ contributions. Upon its completion, the pipeline will transport over 470,000 barrels every day with a potential to transport in excess of 570,000 barrels daily, which constitutes over 50% of the current crude oil production in Bakken per day (Energy Transfer). Despite the benefits that the proponents of the project such as the federal government, energy regulatory authorities (such as the IUB), and the oil producers (Energy Transfer Partners L.P) and suppliers have elucidated. North Dakota oil pipeline has attracted numerous controversies with different groups such as farmers, landowners, natives, and environmental activist organizing consistent protests aimed at stopping its construction. This paper seeks to discuss the controversy that North Dakota oil pipeline has

Get Access