A diesel refinery in southwestern North Dakota will process 20,000 barrels of Bakken-based crude oil per day after construction is complete over the next 20 months. MDU Resources Group Inc., and Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP, have formed a joint venture called Dakota Prairie Refining LLC to develop, build and operate the facility west of Dickinson. Construction at the 318-acre site in Stark County could start this spring.“The decision by MDU Resources and Calumet to move forward on a new diesel refinery is good news for North Dakota and the entire nation,” according to N.D. Gov. Jack Dalyrmple. “This project will be built by the private sector. It will create more jobs, it will help to further diversify our economy and it will increase the region’s supply of diesel fuel,” he said.

The plant’s engineering and design services are currently in the final stages, according to MDU Resources, and Westcon, an oil and gas construction firm based out of Bismarck, and Ventech Engineering, a global EPC contractor for the oil and gas industry, have been selected as the primary equipment and technology provider for the plant.

Other potential subcontractors for the build out include Knife River Corp., a Bismarck-based construction firm, and MDU Construction Services Group. Fidelity Exploration and Production Co. will supply the plant with some of the facility’s crude oil. WBI Energy, a natural gas and crude oil handling company that is part of the MDU Resources Group family of companies, will supply the gas to operate the plant. Montana-Dakota Utilities will provide power for the facility.

“Through this joint venture we are continuing to expand both our midstream energy business and our vertically integrated investment in the Bakke oil play,” David Goodin, president and CEO of MDU Resources said, adding that, “there is a strong existing market for the plant’s production,” and the state will benefit from the plant’s long-term job creation potential.

By Luke Geiver

SOURCE The Bakken magazine