The Fort Berthold Reservation is a lucrative area for oil and gas exploration in North Dakota. About 20% of the state’s production comes from the reservation

Now the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (also Three Affiliated Tribes) on the Fort Berthold Reservation is moving full speed ahead in the industry with the announcement on Wednesday that the MHA Nation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bakken Energy and Mitsubishi Power America Inc., laying the groundwork for the tribe to become the natural gas supplier for the Great Plains Hydrogen Hub.

This is a major and important step for the MHA Nation and its people to be part of this Hub to serve the upper Midwest.

When the Hub, the redevelopment of Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Great Plains Synfuels Plant in Beulah, becomes operational in early 2027, it is to be one of the largest clean hydrogen production facilities in the country and a key contributor to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

Mark Fox, chairman of the MHA Nation, said the clean hydrogen development using natural gas from the reservation “will enable the clean energy we need to save our planet” along with ending excessive flaring on the lands and improve “the quality of life of our members.”

The project not only will have a major impact on the Fort Berthold Reservation but all of North Dakota and beyond our borders.