Here's a bit of news that surfaced on KXMC at noon.
Tex Hall announces that the Thunder Butte refinery will begin construction this spring near Makoti.
It will be built on about 460 acres (can't remember exact amount). Crude oil will be coming from west of the refinery. They have plans for a pipeline across the lake. There is no link yet for the KXMC story.
http://www.mhanation.com/main/oil_refine.html -- a broken link
A new ink for this story:
The Thunder Butte Petroleum Services Refinery southwest of Minot, ND, might be expanded before ever coming online.
Production in the region is on pace to surpass many early predictions, so the affiliated tribes are considering and expansion before the refinery is in place.
Current plans call for capacity of 20,000 b/d, but the company’s CEO expects wells in the region could produce in excess of 300,000 b/d in the next five years.
Watch for additional updates from Thunder Butte Petroleum Services. An expansion will mean an increase in the $450 million price tag.
When you go looking at the next state sale they are beginning to talk about raising the state royalty level. Thought you might want to dig up that story.
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't surprise me.
DeleteLatest estimates are this refinery would cost $400 million to build, and would process 15,000 barrels/day (which is very small compared to most refineris, which are often 10 times the size).
ReplyDeleteThis refinery has been proposed since the middle 90's, and has been in the permitting process for at least 10 years. (Originally, the plant was going to process Canadian crude.)
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) took forever - many Indian / Environmental interests (especially outside of Fort Berthold ) protested the refinery as dumping pollution onto a reservation. Environmental groups have been claiming that chemical plants and refineries create poverty and poor environmental/health conditions for years, as often they are located in impoverished neighborhoods. What goes unsaid is that chemical plants and refineries almost always locate in rural areas - especially rural areas with access to cooling water and cheap land - and that poverty rates are lower after the plants locate there.
Then, for the NPDES permit, the Federal EPA (which has jurisdiction because it is on a reservation) didn't even have its own refinery regulations in place (the EPA has demanded the states to have the refinery regulations in place for at least 20 years - but the EPA itself didn't have its own house in order to issue permits on Federal or tribal land). So the EPA took a couple of years to write its own regulations, and only then could it issue the permit.
http://www.epa.gov/region8/compliance/nepa/mharefinery.html
There was also delays due to the air permit. Many opponents were claiming the refinery should require a Major Source permit, which is very difficult to obtain.
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/tribal-refinery-permit-on-hold/article_0f1b3ab8-04f6-11e1-aef1-001cc4c002e0.html
Nearly four years ago, most believed that construction was imminent:
http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2696&Itemid=84
Great post, thank you.
DeleteI was aware of the story about the EPA not having its own regulations written when it required the states to have them -- I can't remember the specifics, but I do remember that story, or something similar.
I was part of the Air Force bureaucracy for several years of my Air Force career and saw the same thing in that bureaucracy -- the inefficiencies and the demands they placed on outside contractors while not meeting their own AF regulations.
Yes, I knew that it was going to be a small refinery, but it's a start.
Wow, I appreciate all the information you provided. I may turn it into a stand-alone post when I get caught up. Thank you.