North Dakota has been one of the biggest energy stories over the past two years as crude production out of the Williston basin has led to tremendous job and economic growth in the state, as well as helped push the U.S. to the brink of energy self-sufficiency. It has also helped turn rail transportation into a major force in the midstream.

“Rail is the new kid on the block. It’s been quite the story the past few years and has taken many of us by surprise with how quickly it has come online,” Justin Kringstad, director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, told attendees of Hart Energy’s DUG Bakken and Niobrara conference in Denver.

Rail has helped to resolve two of the biggest challenges that producers and operators have faced in the play: moving oil out of the basin and moving it around the basin, he said. The midstream has also sought to solve these challenges through consistent pipeline additions in the state as it rose from 11,707 miles in 2009 to 12,717 miles in 2010 before increasing to 15,070 miles in 2011, according to the most recent data available. Data from 2012 will be released in the third quarter.

The amount of pipeline in the state, as of 2011, was approximately the same distance as between Seattle, Washington, and Washington, D.C. “To say activity is blistering out there is an understatement. Things are moving very rapidly with pipe being put in the ground as safely and quickly as possible,” he said.

The lack of infrastructure has caused some wells to be completely disconnected from any systems, which has resulted in increased flaring of natural gas. “We need to get these wells connected as fast as possible,” he said.

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