5 Refineries Planned Or Under Way In ND; Collectively, Won't Even Dent Rail & Pipeline Volume [View all]

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Williston, ND - While the United States hasn’t seen a new refinery in more than 30 years, North Dakota has five refineries proposed that range from planning stages to active construction.

Some of the projects have long been on the drawing board, but with MDU Resources constructing its refinery near Dickinson, the others could be closer to reality, said the head of North Dakota’s oil industry trade group. “Having one under construction is encouraging more third parties to look at it,” said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. “I’m sure people are going to be watching that and trying to figure out if they can replicate that model. We’ll take them all.”

North Dakota is expected to hit a milestone this year of producing 1 million barrels of oil per day, but refinery capacity is 68,000 barrels at the Tesoro refinery in Mandan, requiring the rest to be transported out of the state. Meanwhile, the state’s demand for diesel is about double what the Mandan refinery produces, and projected to keep climbing.

Refining more crude oil in North Dakota means less oil will need leave the state by rail or pipeline. But the difference in transportation likely won’t be noticeable even if all five refineries are constructed, said Sandy Fielden, managing director of energy analytics at consultant firm RBN Energy.

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http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/95487/