Minor condensate spill reported in North Dakota

The North Dakota government reported a minor spill of so-called condensates migrated to a drainage ditch feeding a creek in the west of the state.

About 1 barrel, or roughly 42 gallons, of condensates spilled from a pipeline operated by a division of Hess Corp.

"Condensate consists of heavier hydrocarbons present in natural gas that condense as liquids in a pipeline," the state Department of Health said in a statement. "The spill impacted an intermittent drainage of Dry Fork Creek [10 miles south of Tioga in Williams County]."

Hess last year said it would use revenue from a future initial public offering toward development of a natural gas processing plant and rail terminals in North Dakota.

Midstream operations in North Dakota will include pipeline and rail terminals for crude oil deliveries as well as a natural gas processing plant in Tioga.

The company had no statement on the pipeline release. The Department of Health made no indication of a threat to the public.

Hess last week completed the sale of half of its midstream holdings in the Bakken reserve area of North Dakota to Global Infrastructure Partners for cash consideration of $2.68 billion.

The company said it would use the proceeds to build a position of strength in the Bakken in the weak crude oil price environment and support future growth opportunities.