Dakota Plains Provides Operations Update On Pioneer Terminal Expansion

WAYZATA, Minn., Oct. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc. ("Dakota Plains"), (OTC: DAKP) today provided an operations update on the Pioneer Terminal expansion project that commenced in March of this year.  The project consists of a double loop track that can accommodate two 120 rail car unit trains, 180,000 bbls of crude oil storage, a high-speed loading facility that can accommodate 10 rail cars simultaneously, and transfer stations to receive crude oil from local gathering pipelines and trucks.  Highlights include:

• With 75% of construction completed and all materials secured, the $50 million project remains under budget;
• Full commissioning of the expansion is expected in late December 2013 as per the original schedule;
• The first gathering system pipeline has been connected to the Pioneer Terminal. A definitive agreement to receive oil has been executed, with first oil expected in late October;
• As part of an agreement with its joint venture partner, Dakota Plains has begun the transition to assume the management oversight of the Pioneer Terminal operations. As a result, Dakota Plains plans to consolidate the DPTS transloading joint venture financial statements from Q4 2013 onwards;
• Mr. James Tate has been appointed Vice President of Operations of Dakota Plains and will oversee Pioneer Terminal operations;
• The company continues to develop its inbound oilfield products business at the Pioneer Terminal. Construction is underway for the $15 million frac sand terminal announced with UNIMIN earlier this year; completion is scheduled for May 2014. The frac sand terminal will comprise 8,000 tons of fixed sand storage, an enclosed transloading facility, and four ladder tracks. Interim frac sand transloading is expected to commence in January 2014, while construction of the permanent facility is still underway.

President and Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Gabe Claypool, said, "Delivering the Pioneer Terminal expansion project safely, on time, and on budget has been the highest priority for our company this year.  I am very pleased that we are in the final stages of meeting these targets.  Despite the area having received record annual rainfall, the integrated teams have efficiently built a state-of-the-art rail facility as planned."

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Craig McKenzie, said, "The growth achievements of 2013 position the company well for 2014 and beyond.  We are proud to report the Pioneer Terminal expansion will increase the throughput capacity nearly three-fold to 80,000 barrels of crude oil per day at a reduced operating cost.  Our direct management of the operations is an important milestone for the company as we prepare to receive the higher throughput crude oil volumes in 2014, in addition to the start-up of our frac sand operations."      

About Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc.
Dakota Plains is an integrated midstream energy company, which competes through its 50/50 joint ventures to provide customers with crude oil offtake services that include marketing, transloading and trucking of crude oil and related products.  Direct and indirect assets include a proprietary trucking fleet, over 1000 railroad tank cars, and the Pioneer Terminal transloading facility centrally located in Mountrail County, North Dakota, for Bakken and Three Forks related E&P activity.  For more information please visit the corporate website:  www.dakotaplains.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Dakota Plains, including, but not limited to, statements regarding our future growth and plans for our business and operations.  We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.  These statements involve risks and uncertainties.  Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of lack of diversification, dependency upon strategic relationships, dependency on a limited number of major customers, competition for the loading, marketing and transporting of crude oil and related products, difficulty in obtaining additional capital that will be needed to implement business plans, difficulties in attracting and retaining talented personnel, risks associated with building and operating a transloading facility, changes in commodity prices and the demand for crude oil and natural gas, competition from other energy sources, inability to obtain necessary facilities, difficulty in obtaining crude oil to transport, increases in our operating expenses, an economic downturn or change in government policy that negatively impacts demand for our services, penalties we may incur, costs imposed by environmental laws and regulations, inability to obtain or maintain necessary licenses, challenges to our properties, technological unavailability or obsolescence, and future acts of terrorism or war, as well as the threat of war and other factors described from time to time in the company's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K, filed March 14, 2013, as may be amended and supplemented by subsequent reports from time to time.

SOURCE Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc.