Wall Street Journal: North Dakota’s Pipeline Payoff

The Dakota Access Pipeline marks six months of operations on New Year’s Day, and new data show that North Dakota is already enjoying major benefits from the $3.8 billion project.

The pipeline has significantly lowered energy transportation costs and energy companies to move their oil to the Gulf Coast, where it fetches a higher price. So it’s little surprise that energy production has surged since the Dakota Access Pipeline opened.

Between September and October alone, oil production grew by 78,000 barrels a day, the biggest month-over-month increase North Dakota has ever seen. The state peaked at around 1.185 million barrels a day that month—135,000 barrels more than it produced daily before the pipeline was operational. Compared with January 2017, North Dakota has an additional 15 drilling rigs currently in operation.

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