ASRC Energy Services, Inc. has been selected to take the lead as the owner’s engineer for the MHA Thunder Butte Petroleum Services oil refinery project on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in western North Dakota. The Thunder Butte refinery would be the first to be built in the Lower 48 in the past 30-plus years, and will be able to process crude oil from the Bakken formation to make gasoline, diesel and propane.

“The Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation is where ASRC was more than 30 years ago, when oil was discovered at Prudhoe Bay,” said Jeff Kinneeveauk, president and CEO of ASRC Energy Services, Inc. “We’re excited about sharing our decades of unique industry experience and tribal knowledge, and helping to responsibly bring this crude oil to market.” AES is a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC).

ASRC is an Alaska Native corporation that has experience within the oil and gas industry, and it represents the interests of over 11,000 Iñupiat shareholders from Alaska’s North Slope. Tara Sweeney, Senior Vice President for ASRC commented, “The partnership between the ASRC and MHA families is a good Native to Native relationship that promotes responsible domestic energy production for the benefit of the nation.”

When built, the refinery will have the capacity to process an estimated 20,000 barrels of oil a day. Currently, funding is being secured for the project – which could top $400 million. If the construction and permitting process goes as planned, the refinery could be operational within 3- 4 years.