North Dakota’s only oil refinery is at maximum production, taking advantage of record fuel prices, plant problems in Canada and maintenance shutdowns at refineries in Montana and Minnesota.

The Tesoro refinery at Mandan has been processing 60,000 barrels of Williston Basin crude oil per day for most of the year, said spokesman Leif Peterson. “We’re operating at higher-than-normal capacity for this time of year because the demand is there.”
The company began shipping diesel fuel to Canada in recent weeks because of production problems in that country, Peterson said. It is the first time diesel has been shipped to Canada in the Mandan refinery’s 50-year history, he said.
The company also has boosted production, while refineries in Montana and Minnesota are idle for maintenance reasons, Peterson said.
Gasoline accounts for about 55 per cent of the Mandan refinery’s end product, but diesel, jet fuel, propane, butane and residual fuel also are created.
Peterson said diesel production is typically high in the winter months but slows in the spring to make way for increased gasoline production.