Refineries: The Backbone of the Economy

The American Products and Power bus tour made an exciting stop at the Tesoro refinery in Mandan, ND last week. The bus tour team was greeted by managers on site where we learned about a recent expansion at the refinery, bringing economic growth and jobs to the area.

Ron Day, Environmental Health and Safety Manager, signs the bus

The Tesoro refinery began operations in 1954 following the discovery of oil in Tioga, ND in 1951. With the advancement of hydraulic fracturing technology in recent years, oil production in North Dakota has skyrocketed, surpassing both California and Alaska in daily production. Currently, North Dakota is producing 660,000 barrels of oil a day and has the lowest unemployment rate in the country.

The influx of high quality “sweet crude oil” (low sulfur content) from the Bakken, coupled with a rising demand for diesel fuel, spurred the $35 million expansion investment in the refinery, boosting capacity from 58,000 barrels a day to 68,000 barrels a day. Moreover, Tesoro added more employees to their highly-paid workforce of 250 employees at the refinery, further helping the community.

The Mandan refinery manufactures gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, heavy fuel oils, and liquefied petroleum gas. Next time you fill up your car with gasoline to drop the kids off at school, shop for food at the grocery store, or drive to work our high-tech, complex, fast-paced economy depends on energy products manufactured at refineries such as the Mandan refinery.

Especially in these difficult economic times, we need job creation like what is happening in the North Dakota and at places like the Mandan refinery. If you support affordable energy and sensible regulation, sign the petition here to send Washington a message that energy is critical to growing the economy.