Oneok will build second ND gas  processing plant

Oneok plans to construct Demicks Lake II in McKenzie County, adding 200 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity.

Demicks Lake I, which also will have a capacity of 200 million cubic feet per day, is under construction but expected to reach capacity soon after it's complete, Terry Spencer, Oneok president and CEO, said.

That increased the need for the Demicks Lake II plant, a $410 million project.

"Additional natural gas gathering and processing capacity in the Williston Basin is critical to supporting record-setting crude oil and natural gas production in North Dakota and helping producers meet regional natural gas capture targets," Spencer said.

North Dakota produced 2.4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas in July, exceeding the amount of the state's processing plant capacity.

Demicks Lake II is the eighth expansion or new plant expected to be complete in the next 1.5 years, said Justin Kringstad, director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority. The combined projects will add about 1.1 billion cubic feet per day of plant capacity and represent a total industry investment of $1.7 billion.

Demicks Lake I is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2019, and Demicks Lake II scheduled to follow in early 2020. The projects, which will be northeast of Watford City, are already permitted by the Public Service Commission.

Kringstad said the new plant will allow the state's processing capacity to catch up through 2021. But with natural gas volumes projected to keep climbing, the state will need additional plants or expansions, Kringstad said.

Oneok also recently expanded the Bear Creek natural gas processing plant in Dunn County to 130 million cubic feet per day. After Demicks Lake II is complete, Oneok will have total gas processing capacity of more than 1.4 billion cubic feet per day in the Williston Basin.