Refinery proposal resurfaces after nearly a decade
After sitting largely dormant for nearly a decade, a proposal to build a new oil refinery in North Dakota has resurfaced in recent weeks as state officials consider potential investment options.
According to reporting by the North Dakota Monitor, the Davis Refinery project appeared on a short list of developments under review for possible funding from the state’s Legacy Fund, a sovereign wealth fund built from oil tax revenues.
North Dakota ranks as the nation’s third-largest oil-producing state, trailing only Texas and New Mexico, making refinery capacity and downstream infrastructure a long-standing point of discussion in the state’s energy sector.
Davis Refinery history dates back to 2016
The Davis Refinery was first proposed in 2016 by Meridian Energy Group, which selected a site near the town of Belfield in western North Dakota, not far from Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Meridian described the project as a fully permitted, 49,500-barrel-per-day greenfield refinery, designed to use what the company called state-of-the-art environmental technology and controls to produce ultra-clean transportation fuels for local and regional markets.
Over the following years, the project endured multiple delays. By 2022, Meridian said it had weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, prevailed in two lawsuits seeking to block the project, and secured all necessary permits. At that time, the company told state regulators that construction would begin in 2022 and that refinery operations would start by the end of 2025, according to the Monitor.
Site work and road upgrades followed
Meridian announced last fall that site work had begun near Belfield. In October 2024, local governments completed county road improvements designed to accommodate heavy construction traffic tied to the project. Officials expected that work to wrap up sometime this year.
Despite those announcements, recent observations tell a different story.
Site remains inactive despite renewed attention
According to the North Dakota Monitor, the proposed refinery site currently shows no visible signs of construction activity. Reporters noted that the land remained empty, with no equipment present and no visible progress underway.
Even so, the project’s inclusion on a list of developments being considered for Legacy Fund investment signals renewed attention from state officials and highlights the continuing debate over how North Dakota should deploy oil-derived revenues to support long-term energy infrastructure.