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SPRING 2015
B
akkenLink Pipeline started in 2012 to develop a
project that had been in the works for several years.
The project involved building an oil pipeline from
the Beaver Lodge area to link with the Keystone XL Pipeline.
When the Keystone XL project was put on hold, the new
pipeline was built in a similar location—through the heart
of the Bakken oil field with an outlet going to a rail terminal
where crude oil is shipped via rail to various markets.
Since then, the company has taken on additional customers
and expanded its pipeline further to the north. Vice Presi-
dent of Operations Darren Snow explains, “Our pipeline
system is used by numerous oil companies to transport
between 60,000 and 70,000 barrels of oil per day.”
Superior Customer Service
To keep this operation running, BakkenLink Pipeline
employs 27 people in North Dakota with an operations office
in Mandan and a field office in Fryburg. The company’s
headquarters is in Houston, Texas. Snow notes, “As a small
company, we’re a tight-knit group that focuses on superior
customer service, which means doing what we say we’ll do,
working safely, and being transparent with customers.”
Customers respond to this focus. Snow says, “They view
us as a partner because the transportation piece is criti-
cal to their businesses. We help them get their product to
market, and they know they can count on us for that part
of their operations. Our employees will work long hours,
nights, and weekends—whatever it takes to make sure
we deliver on what we promise. We do have competition,
and we believe going above and beyond is what makes our
customers choose us. We’ve demonstrated that we’re will-
ing to put forth that effort.”
The recent fluctuations in oil prices are a concern to every-
one in the oil industry, notes Snow. “However,” he says, “we
have solid customers, and we perform a necessary part of
getting crude oil to market safely and efficiently.”
Monitoring is Key
To ensure BakkenLink Pipeline can monitor its pipeline,
RTC provides fiber, phone, internet, and point-to-point
Ethernet services. The company runs leak detection
software that is constantly taking data from transmitters
on the pipeline and sending pressure, flow, and tempera-
ture readings back through its data system to its operation
center. DOT-qualified control room operators analyze the
data 24/7/365, so they always know in real time if there’s a
problem. Snow comments, “The fiber gives us the means to
transmit data back and forth from those points. It’s a fast,
safe, efficient way to transfer data.”
Snow adds, “We use several redundant services as part of
our communication strategy to ensure safe and reliable
pipeline operations. If one service goes down, we switch to
another so we don’t miss a beat in monitoring our pipeline.
Fiber is our preferred method but we have other options we
can use. In addition, the communications services allow us
to provide information to our customers, which helps them
make more informed business decisions.”
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Partnering with customers
to safely transport crude oil
BakkenLink
Pipeline LLC