Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. has announced that the Dakota Access Pipeline is now pumping Bakken crude oil.

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In a recent press release, the Dallas-based company said that the 1,200-mile line carrying Bakken oil to distribution points in Illinois began service on June 1st.

The highly controversial, 1,172 mile pipeline project cost an estimated $3.8 billion and will serve the North Dakota counties of Mountrail, Williams and McKenzie.

The Dakota Access Pipeline and the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline from Illinois to the Gulf Coast together make up the $4.8 billion Bakken Pipeline system.

Dakota Access Quick Facts

• Construction of the pipeline has created roughly 12,000 jobs
• Spurred hundreds of millions of dollars investment in heavy equipment and thousands of construction jobs to the state.
• Over $3.54 billion spent on construction
• Will continue to invest hundreds of millions a month into the U.S. economy
• Once in operation, it will transport 470 000 bpd 
• Has generated an estimated $156 million in sales and income taxes during construction, and $55 million in property taxes annually

With production in the region expected to rise, some analysts predict that the DALP will reach 75 percent of capacity by year-end 2017. ESAI Energy is one source predicting that Bakken will continue to experience production growth through next year.