08.04.11

Hoeven Announces Key EPA Approval for Fort Berthold Refinery

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced the Environmental Protection Agency has approved a key permit for the proposed petroleum refinery on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation near Makoti, N.D. The Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara (MHA) Nation Clean Fuels Refinery is expected to be one of the few oil refineries to be constructed in the United States in the last 30 years, and be capable of refining 15,000 barrels of oil per day. 

“This permit represents an important milestone and a tremendous opportunity for the Three Affiliated Tribes and our state,” Hoeven said. “It will create new jobs, especially for members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, and make it possible for North Dakota to play a more integral role in the entire cycle of oil production, from its crude extraction to consumer use.” 

During his tenure as governor, and now as a member of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Hoeven has worked to support the project and see that it achieved federal approval. In anticipation of the refinery’s approval, the Fort Berthold Community College created a two-year training program to educate students interested in energy-related careers, including refinery operation. 

The refinery project is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs during the approximately two-year construction phase. Once in operation, the refinery is expected to create 65 permanent jobs, and propel job growth in the local service industry. 

Hoeven is a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee of the U.S. Senate. He has been working to build support in Congress to create a healthy U.S. economy through energy and technology-related job creation.