Energy Transfer, the company behind the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline, has declared force majeure on the project to stop companies from pulling out of its plan to double the pipeline’s capacity. Reuters reported , citing unnamed sources in the know, that Energy Transfer is using force majeure to prevent companies that think the pipeline is no longer necessary to stick to their capacity commitments. The reason they think the pipeline is no longer necessary is that U.S. oil production has fallen substantially, removing the need for additional pipeline capacity. The Dakota Access was conceived as a channel to transport shale oil from the Bakken play in North Dakota to Illinois. The $3.8-billion project, whose initial capacity was 570,000 bpd , attracted a lot of opposition, which escalated to massive protests a few years ago. Now, Energy Transfer wants to boost the pipeline’s capacity to a much as 1.1 […]