Pipeline Authority outlines Bakken East gas pipeline, nonbinding open‑season and state backstop option

Justin Kringstead, representing the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, told the Legislature’s energy committees that the state’s crude oil transmission system is generally adequate today but that natural‑gas takeaway capacity is the critical near‑term constraint for producers as wells get “gassier.”

Nonbinding open season for Bakken East/Bakken Express: Kringstead described a proposed new project—referred to in the presentation as Bakken East (also discussed as Bakken Express and involving multiple developers)—that would add pipeline capacity out of western North Dakota. He said the project’s developer has opened a nonbinding open season for potential long‑term contracts and that the initial scope described in the presentation calls for roughly a 375‑mile pipeline sized at about 30 inches in the western segment tapering to 24 inches in the east. The developer’s schedule presented to the committee showed phased in‑service dates in 2026 for the western segment and a twin east segment in late 2029, subject to commitments from users.

Cap…