Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Planning a Second Expansion Phase on its Grasslands Project

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company (WBI) (Bismarck North Dakota) initiated a binding open season for new firm capacity on March 13, 2003 on its planned Grasslands Pipeline Project. The initial 80 mmscfd of coal bed methane and conventional natural gas capacity for the still unconstructed pipeline has already been fully subscribed. WBI is looking to subscribe up to its full design capacity of 200-250 mmscfd by the time the open season closes on March 31, 2003.

The scope of the first phase of the pipeline has changed since Industrialinfo.com's earlier press release of October 29, 2002 "Williston Basin Interstate Nears Construction Phase on Grasslands Pipeline" http://www.industrialinfo.com/showNews.jsp?newsitemID=9921

The first phase of the $58 million Grasslands Pipeline is scheduled to begin construction in the second quarter of 2003. It will encompass laying 247 miles of 16" diameter pipeline and the construction of a new compressor station and a compressor unit addition at an existing station. The pipeline will originate approximately 14 miles north of Gillette Wyoming at Bitter Creek Pipeline LLC's Bitter Creek Compressor Station and take a northeastern course traversing Wyoming, Montana and terminating at Northern Border Pipeline's compressor station 5 near Manning North Dakota.

WBI will construct a new compressor station utilizing two Waukesha 8 cylinder 2,090 horsepower internal combustion reciprocating engines as the prime movers for the compressors. There will also be a 1,200 horsepower compressor unit addition at the existing Cabin Creek Compressor Station in Montana. When completed in November 2003, the new pipeline will provide an interconnect with WBI's Baker Storage reservoir, which with a gas storage capacity of 163 Bcf is one of the largest gas storage facilities in the world. ForeRunner Corporation (Denver Colorado) was awarded the environmental and right-of-way engineering for this phase.

When the present open season closes WBI hopes to have signed enough capacity to expand the pipeline's capacity even further. WBI plans on accommodating the new gas capacity by constructing up to three new compressor stations and possibly some minor pipeline looping. The new stations would be located near Golva North Dakota, Baker Montana, and Biddle near the Montana/Wyoming border. Since the total increase in capacity in unknown at this time the early estimates from 4,000 to 12,000 horsepower of additional compression at each new compressor station. WBI expects to file with the FERC soon after the open season closes and construction scheduled for the spring of 2004 with a November 2004 completion time line to take advantage of the 2004/2005 winter heating season.

Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company operates over 3,200 miles of natural gas pipeline and 23 compressor stations in Montana, Wyoming and both North & South Dakota. Both Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company and Bitter Creek Pipeline Company LLC are subsidiaries of WBI Holdings (Bismarck North Dakota) which in turn is owned by MDU Resources Group, Incorporated (NYSE:MDU) (Bismarck North Dakota).