Americans have a serious thirst for fuel the largest in the world. In fact we import 60% of it's petroleum products

So as we look at the oil flowing out of the Bakken Formation does it make sense to build a refinery here? Donnell Preskey explores that topic as we continue our series Oil: Dakota Gold.

(Donnell Preskey) "There are millions of barrels of oil pumping out of the Bakken and as our oil production increases talk about an additional refinery is heating up." (Ron Ness) "The economics behind building new or expanding a refinery in rural areas are extremely challenging. We got a lot of people looking at it. We got more people looking in ND than anywhere else in the country." Representative Shirley Meyer is one of those people pushing for another refinery

She's part of a group that formed this year to study the issue

Meyer says knowing how much oil is in the Bakken is all the incentive the state needs

(Rep. Shirley Meyer / (D) Dickinson) "This indicates to us we are going to have another 2 decades of oil, and we need to add value to it, refine own product and work on finished product pipeline." Meyer says interested investors are ready to pay for the project whatever it may be

(Shane Goettle / ND Commerce Commissioner) "4 refining projects on the table we are aggressively supporting and pursuing." The Oil and Gas Research Council is studying a refinery in the Williston area

The Three Affiliated Tribes is working on permitting a refinery on the Reservation

And American Lignite Energy is looking at a coal to liquids plant near Underwood

Plus - the Tesoro Refinery in Mandan is expanding it's diesel production

(John Berger / Tesoro Refinery Mgr.) "We've talked about expanding as much as 15,000 barrels a day but even that is about a $225 million dollar investment - large investment - we have to make sure economics support that." The Tesoro Refinery already produces more product than the state consumes

About half of it leaves the state

That's because fuel also comes into North Dakota on four pipelines

(Goettle) "We are a net exporter - any additional refining capacity means we have to find export markets for it - large areas - like minneapolis, chicago." (Meyer) "We can't take the assumption that we won't use it all here and that's why we don't have to refine it. When you look at that same scenario - we produce a lot of wheat and cattle and we don't eat it all here but it helps ND's bottom line. Same is true with oil." But building a refinery can be a risky venture especially with high oil prices. (John Berger / Mandan Refinery) "even though consumers are looking for some relief at the pump we've got almost $3.50 just into crude oil and taxes - that puts a squeeze on refineries." And that's why Gas Prices will continue to squeeze your wallet

Because contrary to what you may think another refinery won't lower what you pay at the pump

But state officials say an additional refinery would add value to the Bakken oil some of the best crude the world. Creating more wealth in the state before the oil leaves.

(Rep. Meyer) "Developing strategies and legislation for upcoming session on what we can do to expedite this process of getting a refinery built here. It's going to happen." (Donnell) "Whether we build another refinery or not the state will need to expand it's pipeline. To either transport the oil out of state or to deliver the refined product to market. Ron Ness with the North Dakota Petroleum Council says we've doubled our pipeline capacity in the last two years. And many companies are looking at expansions."


Representative Meyer says another idea that has been tossed around is creating a North Dakota Petroleum Reserve

So North Dakotan's don't run out of fuel

To look at all our stories we've done this week on the oil industry you can go to our website www.kxnet.com/dakotagold. watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list