Hess Corporation Expands Tioga Gas Plant

Hess Corporation (Hess)  commemorated the recently completed expansion of the Tioga Gas Plant which more than doubles the operational capacity of the facility on Monday, May 19.

The project is part of a more than $1.5 billion infrastructure investment made by Hess between 2012 and 2014 in North Dakota that has significantly increased production of propane, methane, butane and natural gasoline, as well as ethane, a vital industrial product never before produced in the state. The expansion also brings a substantial improvement in efficiency and significantly reduces the amount of natural gas flared at Hess’s operations, from about 25 percent before the plant was shut down for the expansion project to 15 to 20 percent today.

The plant is fully operational and is currently processing about 120 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMSCFD), with the expectation that through the combination of Hess and third-party gas it will soon process at least 250 MMSCFD with the potential to increase beyond 300 MMSCFD. Prior to the expansion, the plant processed about 100 MMSCFD.

“Since 2010, we have invested more than $10 billion in North Dakota, we currently have a 17 rig drilling program with 2014 net production expected to average 80,000 to 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day,” said John Hess, Chief Executive Officer of Hess Corporation.

“We appreciate the tremendous investment Hess is making in North Dakota, which amounts to $1.5 billion not only for this expansion, but also for four new gas gathering projects the company expects to complete by the end of the year,” U.S. Senator John Hoeven said. “This new expansion more than doubles the plant’s capacity to produce natural gas, more than triples the amount of propane available to North Dakota and the region, and at the same time significantly reduces flaring in the oil patch.”

The company’s full year 2014 production forecast for the Bakken is 80,000 to 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The gas plant expansion, as well as other recent infrastructure improvements made in North Dakota, is part of the company’s growth strategy.

At the peak of plant expansion, there were about 1,400 people working at the site, with more than 5 million total man-hours accumulated over about a two and a half year period. During the final 9 months to complete the project and commission the plant, these crews worked 2.3 million man hours without a single recordable injury.

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LNG World News Staff, May 20, 2014; Image: Hess Corporation