The Great Plains Synfuels Plant has two synthetic natural gas pipelines and one carbon dioxide pipeline. A synthetic natural gas pipeline that moves gas from the plant to a hub on the Northern Border Pipeline, and another delivers gas from the Synfuels Plant to Antelope Valley Station.
The carbon dioxide pipeline is operated by Souris Valley Pipeline, Ltd., a for-profit subsidiary of Dakota Gasification Company. This pipeline transports carbon dioxide captured at the plant and transports it to oil fields in Canada.
Dakota Gas owns and operates two synthetic natural gas (SNG) pipelines. A 35-mile pipeline delivers SNG from its Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah, ND, to the Northern Border Pipeline at the Hebron, ND, metering station. The pipeline is a 24-inch carbon steel line that operates at a normal operating pressure of 1,300 PSIG.
Along the Northern Border Pipeline, there are eight recovered energy generation (REG) power plants "fueled" by hot exhaust with a total generating capacity of about 44 megawatts (MW). Each REG unit uses the hot exhaust gases from the compressor station to generate electricity. Basin Electric purchases the power from these units.
The second pipeline is a four-mile, 10-inch carbon steel pipeline that delivers SNG from the Synfuels Plant to Basin Electric’s nearby Antelope Valley Station. Antelope Valley uses the gas as a start-up fuel.
Both of these pipelines operate with a maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) of 1,440 pounds per square inch (PSI).
Carbon dioxide pipeline
Dakota Gas captures and sells CO2 produced at the plant to customers and transports it through a 205-mile pipeline to Saskatchewan, Canada, to be used for enhanced oil recovery in the Weyburn and Midale fields.
The first CO2 was sent to Canada in October 2000. Today, Dakota Gas exports up to 155 million cubic feet per day of CO2 to Canada – about two-thirds of the readily available CO2 when running at full rates.
Once the pipeline enters Canada it is known as the Souris Valley Pipeline for the area it passes through. Souris Valley Pipeline Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dakota Gas.