Flint Hills Resources will seek the necessary state and localpermits in 2005 and 2006. The Wichita, KS-based company needs morerefining capacity at the plant to meet growing demand for gasolineand diesel fuel in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas.Flint Hills says demand has grown 2% a year over the last sevenyears.

"It has been well reported that demand for petroleum productscontinues to grow while US refining capacity has remainedrelatively flat," says Dave Robertson, president of Flint HillsResources. "Increasing our crude oil processing capacity isessential to meet growing demand for both diesel fuel and gasoline,which is projected to grow throughout the rest of the decade in thestates we serve."

The project that will increase Pine Bend refinery's crude oilprocessing capacity by 50,000 barrels a day when it comes online inthe summer of 2007, increasing the refinery's crude oil processingcapacity from about 280,000 barrels per day to 330,000. Theincreased capacity will help meet the growing demand for gasolineand diesel fuel in the Upper Midwest.