November 30, 2010 [Business Wire] - Rangeland Energy, LLC announced today that the company will build, own and operate a crude oil loading terminal and pipeline in Williams County, North Dakota. Known as the COLT Hub and the COLT Connector, the terminal and pipeline facilities are expected to be in service by December 2011.
Strategically located in the heart of the prolific Bakken and Three Forks shale oil producing areas, COLT will provide producers and marketers with the first open-access crude oil marketing hub in North Dakota.
On November 24, 2010, Rangeland filed a letter of intent with the North Dakota Public Service Commission to build the COLT Connector, a 20-mile crude oil transmission pipeline in Williams County. The pipeline will connect Rangeland’s planned crude oil loading terminal, the COLT Hub, located near Epping, North Dakota, to a point of interconnect with multiple existing and planned crude oil pipelines eight miles south of Tioga, North Dakota.
The COLT Hub will aggregate crude oil produced in Williams and neighboring counties utilizing gathering pipelines and trucks. The hub will also provide crude oil handling and storage services through on-site tankage and access to multiple downstream crude oil markets through the COLT Connector and railcar loading facilities. Served by BNSF Railway Company, the COLT Hub will load both unit-train and manifest shipments of crude oil to markets throughout North America, including crude oil receiving terminals along the Gulf Coast.
“The COLT Hub and COLT Connector will offer producers and marketers much needed terminal services and the ability to access multiple downstream markets, enhancing the value of their crude oil,” said Christopher Keene, Rangeland president and CEO. “We look forward to providing competitive services to all qualified crude oil shippers in the region.”
“We are also excited about the economic benefits that development of the COLT project will provide to local economies in Williams and nearby counties. We continue to work closely with local leaders and officials to forge strong, positive relationships within the community and the state.”
Headquartered in Sugar Land, Texas, Rangeland Energy, LLC was formed in 2009 to focus on developing, acquiring, owning and operating midstream infrastructure for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s primary focus has been in North Dakota and other growing oil and gas shale producing areas.
