PLAZA, N.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dakota Gold Transfer - Plaza, LLC (“Dakota Gold”) announced today that the company plans to develop a crude oil transload facility in Mountrail County, North Dakota. Strategically located on a 350-acre site in the eastern section of the prolific Bakken and Three Forks shale oil producing areas, the Plaza Terminal will provide refiners, marketers and producers with new options for reaching multiple markets across the United States and Canada via rail and pipeline.
Dakota Gold is a joint venture between its president and CEO, Cody Moe, and the TrailStone Group (“TrailStone”). Mr. Moe is a well-established crude oil trucking and construction entrepreneur with seven years of experience in the Bakken. TrailStone is an energy asset investor and manager, majority-owned by Riverstone Holdings, LLC, a private equity firm specializing in energy with approximately $27 billion of equity capital raised.
The Mountrail County Commission has approved Dakota Gold’s application for a conditional use permit and the company’s request to have the site rezoned for industrial use. Direct truck-to-train transload service may begin at the Plaza Terminal approximately 90 days after construction begins. Dakota Gold plans to break ground at the site later this year and anticipates that storage and high-speed rail loading service will be available during the second half of 2015.
Storage, Rail and Pipeline Service
Located on a private rail spur controlled by Dakota Gold under a long-term lease, the state-of-the-art terminal will be served by the Canadian Pacific Railway (TSX: CP) (NYSE: CP). The Plaza Terminal will aggregate crude oil produced in Mountrail and neighboring counties, utilizing gathering pipelines and trucks. The terminal will also provide crude oil storage services through on-site tankage. The rail facility will have a throughput capacity of 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) and storage capacity of more than 300,000 barrels, with expansion to 600,000 barrels during a planned second phase. The terminal’s design includes two loop tracks with storage for one to two additional trains on the private rail spur, a covered loading barn, a 14-arm system capable of loading a unit train in approximately 14 hours, 15 truck unloading bays and three 103,000-barrel storage tanks. The Plaza site is large enough to allow for substantial expansions of storage and transload capacity as customer demand increases.
Dakota Gold is currently working with various midstream companies to develop gathering connections to the Plaza Terminal. Dakota Gold is also in discussions with various pipeline companies to develop outbound pipeline service from the Plaza Terminal to multiple pipeline markets. Dakota Gold’s objective is to provide its customers with significant takeaway capacity and flexible access to premium crude oil markets by creating a logistics hub at the Plaza site that offers both rail and pipeline delivery service.
Dakota Gold Perspective
“As Bakken production continues to expand at a remarkable rate, the Plaza Terminal will offer refiners, marketers and producers competitive and much-needed terminal service and the ability to access multiple downstream markets, maximizing the value of their crude oil,” said Cody Moe, Dakota Gold’s president and CEO. “Unit-train-capable rail facilities are reasonably new to the Bakken. After an initial four years that saw the construction of a number of rail facilities, we are entering a new phase in their design and development. Dakota Gold is incorporating all of the lessons learned in the initial phase to develop a best-in-class facility with the most efficient design and the most advanced technologies. We believe this is a key factor driving favorable customer response to the Plaza Terminal. We look forward to providing top-tier and very competitive service to all qualified crude oil shippers in the region.”
“We are also excited about the economic benefits that development of Dakota Gold’s Plaza Terminal will provide to local economies in Mountrail and nearby counties. We continue to work closely with local leaders and officials to forge strong, positive relationships.”
John Redpath, head of oil and agriculture at TrailStone and a Dakota Gold board member, said, “We are very excited about our partnership with Cody Moe to develop the Plaza Terminal, which provides a world-class facility to meet the needs of our customers and extends the network of strategic assets that TrailStone is building in our core markets.“
Comments from Canadian Pacific Railway
"CP is pleased to be working with Dakota Gold on this project as our network provides flexibility to marketers and refiners to access key production areas for light, medium and heavy crude and for producers to get their product into all of the North American refining markets," said Tommy Browning, CP’s vice president of energy and merchandise marketing and sales. “CP offers a flexible, reliable and efficient method of transporting crude oil and other energy-related products to emerging markets and we are proud to be collaborating with Dakota Gold."
With more than 15,000 track miles and global reach through its ports on the east and west coasts, the Canadian Pacific plays a key role in the energy supply chain. CP is the only rail carrier providing single line haul service between the Bakken and major crude oil markets in the northeastern United States.
Dakota Gold believes that the substantial capital investment Canadian Pacific is making in the Bakken region and on the New Town subline in particular will allow the Plaza Terminal to more effectively realize its design capabilities and will have a material impact on some of the congestion issues experienced by all railroads during the rapid expansion of rail deliveries of Bakken crude.
About Dakota Gold Transfer - Plaza, LLC
Headquartered in Plaza, North Dakota, Dakota Gold Transfer - Plaza, LLC was formed in 2014 to focus on developing and operating a crude oil marketing hub in Mountrail County. Dakota Gold is a joint venture between its president and CEO, Cody Moe, and the TrailStone Group (“TrailStone”). www.dakotagoldtransfer.com.
About Cody Moe
Mr. Moe began working construction when he was a teenager. He started his own construction company a few years later, building the business to execute large projects for customers including Baker Hughes, Cargill, Enterprise Products Partners L.P., John Deere and Petro-Hunt, LLC. In 2011 he formed a crude oil trucking company, growing the company from one truck to a fleet of 23 trucks hauling more than 23,000 barrels per day. Born in Watertown, South Dakota, Cody has been working in the Bakken Shale for more than seven years. He has deep understanding of the oil and gas industry and the infrastructure challenges that have accompanied the play’s rapid growth.
About TrailStone Group
Formed in April 2013, TrailStone is a global commodities logistics and physical trading company staffed with experienced commodity professionals from all sectors. Funded by Riverstone Holdings, LLC and the direct investment of the TrailStone partners and employees, offices have been established in London, Berlin, Sydney, Austin and New York. TrailStone recently acquired U.S. Oil and Refining Co., whose assets include a 42,000 bpd refinery located in Tacoma, Washington, and best-in-class rail, pipe, marine and truck logistics in the Pacific Northwest and the Bakken Shale. For more information go to www.trailstonegroup.com.
About Riverstone Holdings LLC
Riverstone is an energy and power-focused private investment firm founded in 2000 by David M. Leuschen and Pierre F. Lapeyre, Jr. with approximately $27 billion of equity capital raised. Riverstone conducts buyout and growth capital investments in the exploration & production, midstream, oilfield services, power and renewable sectors of the energy industry. With offices in New York, London and Houston, the firm has committed approximately $26.1 billion to 108 investments in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. www.riverstonellc.com.
