Marathon Petroleum earns recognition for commitment to North Dakota communities

Photo: Marathon Petroleum Corp.

Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s depth of involvement in North Dakota communities has set it apart from peers in an oil and gas industry association with more than 550 member companies.

MPC recently won the North Dakota Petroleum Council’s 2022 Community Engagement Award in recognition of its corporate and employee initiatives to support nonprofit organizations, education and workforce development in the state.

The NDPC acknowledged a range of engagement efforts from 2018 through 2021. During this period, MPC and its midstream segment, MPLX, accounted for more than $2.2 million in financial contributions and more than 2,000 employee-volunteer hours.

Among several other volunteer activities, employees worked at fundraising events, spoke to high-school students about careers in the oil-and-gas industry and served at family-crisis centers.

Some of the larger financial contributions were several grants totaling $300,000 to Bismarck State College and a $250,000 grant to North Dakota’s Gateway to Science, a nonprofit learning center.

The BSC funds targeted science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs, scholarships, career conferences and training labs. Additionally, employees mentored BSC students, conducted facility tours and served on BSC’s board of directors.

The grant to NDGTS went toward funding completion of its new, 43,700-square-foot complex that will provide expanded space for hands-on STEM exhibits for students from preschool through high school.

“Our employees earned this award through their willingness to give of their time and financial resources,” said Chris Staats, general manager of MPC’s Mandan Refinery, who was among the Marathon representatives accepting the award at the NDPC’s annual meeting. “I’m grateful for their efforts and proud of our company for making a sound investment in North Dakota’s future by supporting STEM and other educational programs.”

MPC and MPLX collectively have more than 650 employees in North Dakota who operate the refinery in Mandan, a renewable diesel facility in Dickinson, pipelines, rail terminals and natural gas gathering and processing facilities.