First U.S. Refinery in 30 Years Continues Moving Forward

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--What could be the first grassroot petroleum refinery to be built in the U.S. in 30 years continues to move forward. The 55,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Davis Refinery in North Dakota is being planned by Meridian Energy Group (Belfield, North Dakota). The latest development shows Meridian opting for lower air emissions by choosing hydrocracking processing technology over fluid catalytic cracking for the second phase of the refinery.

The first phase of the Davis Refinery is planned to kick off construction in the third quarter of this year and be completed in summer 2018. The second phase of the project is planned to kick off in late 2018 and be completed summer 2019. The projects have a combined total investment value of $900 million. In August, Meridian finalized a contract with Vepica USA Incorporated (Houston, Texas) to perform engineering work for the plant. For more information, see August 26, 2016, article - Meridian Chooses Engineering Firm, Process Technology for Grassroot Refinery in North Dakota.

The selection of hydrocracking over fluid catalytic cracking technology will allow the refinery greater flexibility in end products, including the ability to adjust the rate of ultra-low-sulfur diesel to naphtha. Choosing hydrocracking technology lowers the rate of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide and volatile organic chemicals that will be released.

The company chose the refinery's location near Belfield, North Dakota, not only for its proximity to oil production from the Bakken Shale, but also for its proximity to oil and gas pipelines and a rail line, possibly facilitating the construction of a crude oil feedstock offloading and refined fuels uploading terminal, as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line runs through the site.

While the Davis Refinery remains the grassroot refinery with the highest potential to begin construction in the U.S., Industrial Info is tracking other refineries planned for the country. Among these are several hydroskimming refineries, as well as Raven Petroleum LLC's (The Woodlands, Texas) planned 50,000-BBL/d refinery near Freer, Texas. The refinery would produce naphtha, gasoline and jet fuel products to be shipped to Mexico. The project remains in the early planning stages, but could kick off construction by the second quarter of 2018, taking about a year and a half to complete. Wink Engineering (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is performing engineering services for the project, and BASIC Equipment (Houston, Texas) is acting as construction manager.

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