(Not that they bi passed the regs......but try this for size:)
Indian Tribe builds $400million oil refinery
NEW TOWN, N.D. — Oil production on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota has become so large that it would rank among the top 10 oil producing states in the nation, a tribal leader said Tuesday.
Tex Hall, chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes - Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara - said the more than 1,000 wells in the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation produce in excess of 180,000 barrels of oil a day. Compared directly with state production, that puts them among the top 10 oil producers in the nation.
Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/north-dakota-tribes-oil-output-rivals-u-s-states/article_75eb6dfa-50eb-5569-8b81-d8295e045d59.html#ixzz3Mx1BHTwV
Tribal Chairman Tex “Red Tipped Arrow” Hall for having the vision to pursue a refinery, a plan that began 10 years ago before the Bakken oil boom. Initially the proposal called for refining Canadian tar sands, but in 2008 the plans switched to refine the tribe’s own Bakken crude.
During the celebration, Hall reflected about his ancestors.
“We grew up poor. We were lucky if we had a pair of clean overalls,” Hall said. “But our parents made sure we went to school and got educated. They did the best they could for us. They didn’t know we’d have this oil and gas resource, but now we do. It’s our responsibility to manage it and we are.”
Of the 0ver 400 acres of land that comprises the area, 190 acres will be used for the oil refinery, storage tanks and road/rail transfer stations....the rest devoted to expanding the tribes Buffalo herds.
Three Affiliated Tribes officials are talking to other tribes about inter-tribe commerce agreements to distribute diesel from its refinery.
- See more at: http://www.prairiebizmag.com/event/article/id/14552/#sthash.bh1Nk0wC.dpuf
Sounds like a great plan to me: produce gasoline and buffalo! :D