Dakota Gold Transfer-Plaza LLC announced plans to develop a crude oil transload facility in Mountrail County, N.D. The Plaza Terminal is planned for a 350-acre site in the eastern Bakken and Three Forks areas.

Dakota Gold is a joint venture between its president and CEO Cody Moe and the TrailStone Group, an energy asset investor and manager.

The Mountrail County Commission approved Dakota Gold’s application for a conditional use permit and its request to have the site rezoned for industrial use. Truck-to-train transload service could begin at the terminal about 90 days after construction begins. The company intends to break ground at the site in late 2014 and expects that storage and high-speed loading service will begin during the second half of 2015.

The terminal will be served by the Canadian Pacific Railway. It has a planned throughput capacity of 70,000 barrels per day and storage capacity of 300,000 barrels (bbl), with expansion to 600,000 bbl planned for a second phase of construction. Its design includes two loop tracks with storage for up to two additional trains on the private rail spur where it is located. It also includes a covered loading barn, a 14-arm system able to load a unit train in about 14 hours, 15 truck unloading bays and three 103,000 bbl storage tanks.