Courtesy of Heartland.org

 

‘A Win for All’

The Davis Refinery presents a win-win-win for North Dakotans in general and Bakken oil producers in particular, says former North Dakota state representative Bette Grande, now a research fellow at The Heartland Institute, which publishes Environment & Climate News.

“The Davis Refinery is a win for all,” Grande said. “Because this refinery will utilize local natural gas to operate, oil producers will be able to move forward with their oil drilling programs without limitations caused by North Dakota’s gas capture requirements, and it will reduce the amount of oil currently being transported out of state by pipelines and rail for refining elsewhere.

“Much of the infrastructure to deliver the crude stock and natural gas to the refinery is already in place,” Grande said. “In addition, the water source for the Davis Refinery is a brine formation 5,000 feet underground. This salty water is not suitable for drinking, farming, or ranching, meaning its use by the refinery will not impact water availability in the area.”

Cites Need for Fossil Fuels

The United States should not put itself at a disadvantage versus our economic competitors by unnecessarily hampering oil and gas production, says North Dakota state Sen. Curt Kreun (R-Grand Forks).

“With so many products requiring refined petroleum byproducts, including clothing, glass, and steel manufacturing, just to name a few, we cannot cut off our nose to spite our face by unilaterally quitting the use of fossil fuels,” Kreun said. “Worldwide, U.S. oil and gas consumption remains a small pinpoint in the growing use of fossil fuels for energy.

“North Dakotans, facing winters where the temperature gets down to 20 below zero, do not want to go the way of California, with its rolling brownouts and blackouts,” Kreun said. “California energy providers actually warn customers that if they need constant electric power, like anyone on a ventilator, for example, they should acquire their own backup generator. This is not acceptable in North Dakota.”

 

Read Full Story Here (Heartland.org)