Vita Est Dulcis: The State Of Oregon Using Ethanol Storage Plants To Store And Ship North Dakota Bakken Oil

The Fargo Forum is reporting:

An ethanol plant on the Columbia River that was built with the help of $36 million in Oregon state loans and tax credits is now being used to store and ship crude oil from North Dakota.

The Oregonian reports the plant's switch came with little public notice.

It was built at a cost of $200 million for Cascade Grain at the Port of St. Helens’ Port Westward Industrial park near Clatskanie. The owner filed for bankruptcy in 2009, less than a year after startup. It produced little ethanol and is mothballed except for the storage tanks. 

And then this:

Global Partners LP of Massachusetts bought the plant in February and renamed it the Columbia Pacific Bio-Refinery. It takes oil that arrives by train from North Dakota's Bakken oil field.

Where have we heard of Global Partners before?

Yup, you are correct. Back on January 14, 2013:

Global Partners LP today announced that it has signed a five-year contract with Phillips 66 under which Global will use its rail transloading, logistics and transportation system to deliver crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota to Phillips 66's Bayway, NJ refinery. 

The terms of the contract include a take-or-pay commitment from Phillips 66 to receive approximately 91 million barrels of crude oil over the contract term, which equates to approximately 50,000 barrels per day. 

The Bakken crude oil is expected to be transloaded at Basin Transload LLC's North Dakota rail facilities. Global has agreed to purchase a 60% interest in Basin Transload. 

Again, more support to my thesis that out-of-state investors -- investors from Wall Street, Connecticut, and Singapore -- need to think outside the Bakken.

A big "thank you" to Don for spotting this most interesting story with multiple story lines. Much more detail can be found at the original source, The Oregonian.