CHS Inc. subsidiary Front Range Pipeline LLC will build a 7-mile connection in central Montana to link its Front Range crude oil pipeline with the Kinder Morgan Express Pipeline. Kinder Morgan-Canada and Front Range will also build storage near the Buffalo, Mont., interconnect. The connection will allow CHS Laurel refinery, 150 miles to the southeast, access to additional sources of Canadian crude.
The Express Pipeline moves up to 280,000 b/d from Hardisty, Alta., to Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and its partners (Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Borealis Infrastructure) have agreed to sell Express Pipeline to Spectra Energy Corp. in a deal expected to close the first half of this year.
The 55,000 b/d Laurel refinery receives Canadian and Montana crude oil through the Front Range pipeline, which extends from the Canadian border to the refinery.
The companies expect to begin work on the project this summer for Q4 2014 completion. Front Range will spend $15 million on the connecting pipeline and associated equipment.
Contact Christopher E. Smith at [email protected].
About the Author
Christopher E. Smith
Editor in Chief
Chris joined Oil & Gas Journal in 2005 as Pipeline Editor, having already worked for more than a decade in a variety of oil and gas industry analysis and reporting roles. He became editor-in-chief in 2019 and head of content in 2025.