New Diesel Refinery | Video

Jennifer Joas | 2/7/2013

With all this talk about energy independence, it`s still been decades since a refinery has been built in the U.S. With the added oil drilling success in the Bakken, the need for diesel fuel is on the rise. That`s why MDU Resources Group is partnering with Calumet Specialty Products to build a diesel refinery west of Dickinson.

It can process up to 20,000 barrels of Bakken oil a day, and turn it into about 7,000 barrels of diesel. MDU says it could take close to 500 construction workers to build the plant, and create 100 permanent jobs.

"Those are the types of jobs that we`re looking for in our area. Jobs that will be here whether we have $29 oil or $129 oil. So we`re real excited about that," said Dickinson Mayor Dennis Johnson.

MDU and Calumet are investing $300 million to build the plant. They hope to start construction this spring, and finish the refinery by the end of 2014.

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