Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Energy Transfer digs in on North Dakota pipeline expansion despite oil slump, sources say

Reuters: U.S. pipeline company Energy Transfer (ET.N) has taken the rare step of invoking force majeure - normally used in times of war or natural disaster - to prevent oil firms from walking away from a proposed expansion of the controversial Dakota Access pipeline, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Energy Transfer wants to nearly double the size of the line, and some companies that signed up say it is no longer necessary due to the sharp fall in U.S. oil production after the coronavirus pandemic. North Dakota is one of the costliest spots in the United States to produce crude, and its output has dropped by about one-third from last year, more than most other oil-producing states.

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