Ft. Berthold Oil Refinery Making Progress

A long-talked about oil refinery project near New Town may be one step closer to breaking ground The project team submitted its final environmental impact statement this past August and despite ironing out some last minute concerns with the Environmental Protection Agency over emissions and protecting ground water they say it may soon become a reality The refinery is planned for this area on about 470 acres of federal Indian land along the Mountrail and Ward Counties border But because plans to build on tribal land coordinators must also navigate approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Despite all the red tape and going-on a decade of work however project manager Horace Pipe says the refinery is now on the 99-yard-line and he can foresee construction beginning as early as early summer Horace Pipe Refinery Project Manager It s a great project for the tribe because like I said it gives added value to their oil and also have jobs for the area It s a process that we can do and technology has advanced that far that we can do it cleanly and efficiently The refinery would make propane gasoline jet fuel and diesel Pipe says the construction of the refinery would bring about 1 000 jobs to the area over the course of the process