BNSF increases Bakken capacity

BNSF Railway plans to increase their hauling capacity from the Bakken oil fields in the Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota to 1 million barrels per day.

The Forth Worth, Texas-based company currently has 1,000 miles of track in the Williston Basin area and serves eight originating terminals with two more scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. BN Railway connects to 16 of the top 19 oil producing counties in central and western North Dakota and five of the six in eastern Montana.

BNSF has transported 88.9 million barrels of Bakken oil this year, an increase of nearly 7,000 percent from 2008 when 1.3 million barrels were shipped.

“We see this trend continuing and we are committed to serving this growing market now and in the future,” Dave Garin, BNSF vice president, said in a press release.

As the Bakken area boomed over the past five years, pipeline capacity lagged behind demand, leaving rail as the best option to ship crude from production to refineries.

“BNSF has responded quickly to enable producers to move crude to the most attractive markets and secure the best prices,” said John Lanigan, BNSF executive vice president and chief marketing director.

The company also plays a key role in shipping sand and steel piping to the Bakken, both of which are used in the fracking process.

BNSF currently serves 30 percent of U.S. refineries in 14 states, including those in the Pacific Northwest which are serviced, in part, by the Hi-Line route through Whitefish and West Glacier.

The company says they are also positioned to act as a gateway to the Canadian Oil Sands.

The increased shipping capacity from the Bakken comes on the tails of the company’s deep capital improvement investments in Montana and North Dakota. This year alone, BNSF invested $197 million in infrastructure in the two states. 560 new employees have been hired since 2011 to fill existing and new positions in Montana and North Dakota.