Paradigm Energy Partners, LLC announced today the execution of a contract that will anchor the build-out of an expansive gathering system in McKenzie County, North Dakota (USA).

Headquartered in Dallas TX, Paradigm is a full service midstream company serving crude oil and natural gas producers in North Dakota's Bakken Shale and the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.

Paradigm has partnered with Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, who has committed to fund the Charleson Field gathering and transport system, as well as other energy infrastructure projects in the Bakken and Eagle Ford Shales, and expects to deploy an initial $200 million in the projects. The initial financing will be used to support Paradigm's build-out in McKenzie County, but the partnership's expectations will be to increase the capital commitment as the company executes its substantial midstream build-out in both North Dakota and South Texas.

Michael Dorrell, Stonepeak Senior Managing Director, stated:

"Paradigm is an important investment for us, consistent with our theme of committing to strategically important US energy infrastructure assets and high quality management teams. We continue to have a strong appetite for contracted energy infrastructure projects, and believe the North American shale revolution presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to participate in the build-out of an entire network of critically important infrastructure in the world's most developed economy."

Paradigm's management team is led by the company's 7 founding partners, a group of accomplished executives with vast experience in the energy and midstream sectors.

Troy Andrews, Paradigm's CEO was quoted: 

"We are excited to be partnering with Stonepeak and look forward to working together to build an innovative midstream company. The execution of this contract, along with Stonepeak's capital commitment reflects the company's desire to support producers with an attractive alternative to their current practice of trucking crude from tank batteries to injection points. This and additional planned projects will provide producers increased flow assurance, additional outbound capacity and market optionality. The construction of the Charleson gathering system and capital from Stonepeak will enable us to continue to respond to our customers' increasing demands for midstream services in the North Dakota."

The Charleson Gathering System consists of 26.5 miles of pipelines which will gather into the Charleson Extension pipeline, a 10" pipeline extending 24.9 miles south from the Charleson Field in Northern McKenzie County. The system will have capacity of up to 80,000 barrels of oil per day, and will connect producers to multi-market transportation and storage options located in and around Johnson's Corner. McKenzie County is a core focus of the partnership between Paradigm and Stonepeak.

Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners is an independent private equity investment firm specializing in North American middle-market infrastructure. Stonepeak invests in businesses comprised of hard assets with strategic importance, primarily in the following sectors: Energy, Power & Renewables, Transportation, Utilities, Water & Communications. Stonepeak is based in New York.