MDU Resources Group, Inc.

Media Kit

MDU Resources Group, Inc. provides value-added natural resource products and related services that are essential to energy and transportation infrastructure, operating in three core lines of business:

• Energy
• Utility resources
• Construction materials and contracting 

MDU Resources includes:

• Natural gas and oil production
• Natural gas pipelines and energy services
• Electric and natural gas utilities
• Construction services
• Construction materials and contracting

Key Facts

(as of Dec. 31, 2009)

MDU Resources Group, Inc.

• More than 8,000 employees.
• More than 70 different companies.
• 44 states with active operations.
• More than $4 billion in annual revenues
• About $6 billion in assets
• MDU Resources has been traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 1948. Current trading symbol: MDU.  
• 14 security firms provide investment research coverage on the company.
• Listed in Value Line.
• Member of the S&P MidCap 400 index.
• Dividends have increased for the past 19 consecutive years, and the company’s quarterly dividend payments have continued uninterrupted since 1937.

The Growth of an American Business

Founded in 1924, MDU Resources has focused growth on areas in which it has expertise. The company is comprised of both regulated and nonregulated businesses that, collectively, operate across much of the U.S. These companies sell a broad spectrum of high-quality products and services primarily related to supporting energy and transportation infrastructure.

1924 Begins as an electric company

• On March 14, 1924, the company is incorporated by C.C. Yawkey and Walter Alexander, both lumber businessmen in Wausau, Wis.; and R.M. Heskett, a Chicago engineer. Heskett is vice president and general manager. Yawkey and Alexander are president and secretary-treasurer, respectively, but neither have operating responsibility. The company begins acquiring electric properties in eastern Montana from its headquarters in Minneapolis.

1926 Natural gas service added

• The company enters the natural gas business. Develops and expands interests in eastern Montana, western North Dakota and northwestern South Dakota.

1935 New name: MDU

• All subsidiaries merge under a single corporation called Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU).

1936 Oil! Oil! Oil!

• MDU is the first to discover oil in the Williston Basin of western North Dakota and eastern Montana. The early oil boom fizzles and no further exploitation would happen for another 15 years because of market economics.

1945 Coal miners join the family

• Knife River Coal Mining Co. is acquired and the company begins its long history in the coal mining business. Another acquisition brings 91 new electric communities in central and western North Dakota.

1948 Listed on the NYSE

• Company common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 20, 1948. The company has assets of $59 million and total revenues of $11 million.

1951 Oil boom begins

• Oil exploration and production emerge with the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in the Williston Basin.

1968 Moving closer to the customer

• Corporate headquarters moves from Minneapolis to Bismarck, N.D., in order to locate management personnel closer to operational territories.

1970 Major expansion

• Natural gas service is extended into eastern North Dakota.

1985 New names, new views

• Corporation realigns under new name: MDU Resources Group, Inc. This name communicates the multidimensional structure of the corporation.
• Natural gas transmission operations are transferred to new subsidiary: Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co.

1986 Oil and natural gas operations launch growth strategy

• Fidelity Oil Group, the company’s long-lived oil and natural gas exploration and development subsidiary established in the late 1920s, begins a growth strategy to expand oil and natural gas reserves and production beyond eastern Montana.

1989 Experience breeds new business

• Prairielands Energy Marketing, an energy services subsidiary, begins operations that expand the corporation’s energy market opportunities.

1990 Expansion in the Gulf of Mexico

• Fidelity Oil expands oil and natural gas operations into the Gulf of Mexico.

1991 Oil and natural gas strategy working

• Operating revenues from Fidelity Oil of approximately $34 million represent more than a 60 percent increase since 1986; reserves have grown 28 percent to more than 16 million barrels of oil equivalent. Production continues to increase and, in 1991, approaches 2 million BOE.

1992 Expanding resources to aggregates

• Knife River Coal Mining acquires sand and gravel operations in central California, thereby entering the aggregate mining and construction materials industry.

1993 Expanding utility service and mining operations

• An agreement is signed allowing natural gas service to Pierre, S.D., and 10 surrounding communities.
• Knife River acquires an Alaskan aggregate and construction materials business and three operations located in California and Oregon.

1994 Marks growth for oil and natural gas production

• Fidelity Oil has a drilling success rate of more than 70 percent and reserves approximate 22 million BOE, while production passes 3 million BOE.

1995 Mining interests include Hawaii

• Knife River acquires 50 percent ownership in Hawaiian Cement, based in Honolulu.

1996 A growing company

• Fidelity Oil completes two significant acquisitions featuring properties in Texas, New Mexico and Alabama, further increasing its oil and natural gas reserve and production base.
• Through six acquisitions in five years, Knife River is a significant player in the U.S. construction materials industry.

1997 Broadening scope of operations

• Fidelity Oil closes the year with more than $68 million in operating revenues. Since 1986, reserves have nearly doubled while production has tripled.
• Knife River Coal Mining changes its name to Knife River Corporation, reflecting its broadening scope, and acquires the remaining 50 percent ownership in Hawaiian Cement.
• Two electric services companies in Portland, Ore., are acquired and the corporation enters the utility infrastructure services industry.
• MDU Resources closes the year with its fifth consecutive year of record earnings performance. Assets total $1.1 billion and revenues exceed $600 million.

1998 NYSE milestone

• The company marks 50 years on the New York Stock Exchange.
• March 5, 1998, total market capitalization of the company exceeds $1 billion.
• Knife River acquires Morse Bros., Inc., a large Oregon-based construction materials company.
• Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline reorganizes under the name WBI Holdings, Inc. to more clearly identify its growing lines of business in energy marketing and pipeline operations.
• Fidelity Oil Group acquires the Willow Springs gas field in eastern Texas.

1999 Anniversary year

• The corporation celebrates its 75th year in business.
• Fidelity Oil Group, renamed Fidelity Exploration & Production Company, becomes a subsidiary of WBI Holdings, thereby consolidating all of the corporation’s oil and natural gas production and reserves.
• Knife River expands into Montana and Wyoming with the acquisition of JTL Group, Inc.
• Utility Services, Inc. – the corporation’s utility infrastructure services business – adds two companies.

2000 More growth

• Knife River acquires Connolly-Pacific Co. in southern California.
• WBI Holdings acquires a large coalbed natural gas producer.
• MDU Resources is named to Forbes magazine’s "Platinum List of America’s 400 Best Big Companies."
• Great Plains Natural Gas Co. joins the corporation’s utility operation, extending services to western Minnesota and southeastern North Dakota.

2001 Building a strong America

• Capital Electric, Bell Electrical and Oregon Electric Construction, Inc. become part of utility services operations.
• Knife River sells its coal interests, becoming strictly an aggregate-based construction materials and mining business; acquires Bauerly Brothers, Inc. in Minnesota; and sees its aggregate reserves reach more than 1 billion tons.
• MDU Resources is listed in the Fortune 1,000 for the first time. Based on revenues, the corporation appears as No. 738 on the list. The corporation also is named to the Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400.
• MDU Resources International is created and partners with EBX Capital Partners in Brazil to develop a 220-megawatt, natural gas-fired, simple-cycle power plant in northeastern Brazil.

2002 Building the nation’s infrastructure

• For the first time, MDU Resources earns Fortune magazine’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies distinction, ranking at No. 82.
• Centennial Power, Inc. acquires Rocky Mountain Power, Inc. and Brush Power, LLC; it plans to construct a 116-megawatt coal-fired electric generation facility in Montana.
• Williston Basin files an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to construct a 253-mile natural gas pipeline from Wyoming to North Dakota. The project, called the Grasslands Pipeline, will be among the largest pipeline construction projects in the history of the corporation.
• MDU Construction Services Group, Inc., formerly known as Utility Services, Inc., acquires F.J. Johnson, Inc. in Anaheim, Calif., and E.S.I., Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Knife River acquires Thorson, Inc., Gesell Concrete Products, Bemidji Blacktop, Granite City Ready-Mix Companies and Buffalo Bituminous, all in Minnesota. Knife River also acquires Figgins Sand & Gravel in Montana.
• Fidelity E&P is named the largest natural gas producer in Montana.
• MDU International begins commercial production of electricity in Brazil through MPX TermoCeara.

2003 A record-setting year

• The Board of Directors approves a three-for-two stock split for shareholders of the corporation’s common stock.
• MDU Resources forms Centennial Energy Resources LLC in response to the success of the corporation’s independent power production ventures. The reporting segment includes Centennial Power and Centennial Energy Resources International, formerly known as MDU International.
• Centennial Power acquires a large wind farm called Mountain View Power Partners near Palm Springs, Calif.
• Knife River reaches $1 billion in annual revenue. It acquires McElroy and Wilken, Inc. in Montana; Atlas, Inc. and Pioneer Construction, Inc. in North Dakota; and Young Brothers, Inc. in Texas.
• Williston Basin completes its Grasslands Pipeline project. The 253-mile, 16-inch natural gas pipeline spans sections of Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota.

2004 Celebrating 80th year

• MDU Resources celebrates its 80th year in business. Forbes magazine names it the Best Managed Big Company in the utility industry in America. It is the fourth consecutive year MDU Resources has been included on the Forbes Platinum List of the Best Big Companies in America.
• Knife River acquires Masco, Inc. in Idaho and Fred Carlson Co., Roverud Construction, Inc., Pederson Bros. of Harmony, Inc. and Becker Sand and Gravel in Iowa. It also acquires the assets of Pohakulepo Quarry in Hawaii.
• Centennial Energy acquires a 49.9 percent ownership interest in an independent power production company in Trinidad and Tobago and a 50 percent ownership interest in the 310-megawatt natural gas-fired Hartwell Generating Facility in Hartwell, Ga. It also acquires Colorado Energy Management in Lafayette, Colo., and begins construction on Rocky Mountain Power’s 116-megawatt coal-fired electric generating facility near Hardin, Mont.

2005 Another record year

• Fidelity E&P acquires producing natural gas and oil properties in South Texas, adding 79 billion cubic feet equivalent in long-term proved reserves.
• Knife River acquires Norm’s Utility Contractor, Inc. in Idaho; Jefferson State companies in Oregon; and Jebro, Inc., Irving F. Jensen Co., Inc. and Brower Construction Co. in Iowa.
• Williston Basin celebrates its 20th anniversary.
• MDU Construction Services Group acquires Bombard Electric and Bombard Mechanical, both in Las Vegas.
• MPX Termoceará Ltd., an electric generating facility in Brazil in which MDU Resources has a 49 percent interest, is sold to Petrobras, a key player in the oil, natural gas and energy industry in Brazil.

2006 A year of change

• MDU Construction Services Group acquires Desert Fire Holdings, Inc. in Reno, Nev.
• Centennial Energy Resources acquires the member interests of San Joaquin Cogen, LLC in California and purchases an interest in an operating electric energy transmission partnership in Brazil.
• Knife River acquires Wm. Winkler Company in Spokane, Wash., Valley Asphalt and Paving, Inc. in Colville, Wash., and Kent’s Oil Service in Stockton, Calif.
• Fidelity E&P acquires 51 billion cubic feet equivalent of proven reserves in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming.

2007 Utility growth

• Merger with Cascade Natural Gas Corp. is finalized, doubling natural gas customer count at the corporation’s utility operations. Cascade is the third utility business within MDU Resources, which now serves more than 500,000 customers in seven states.
• Centennial Energy Resources sells its domestic independent power production business unit consisting of Centennial Power, Inc. and Colorado Energy Management. Generating assets sold include 603 MW of electric generating capacity in Montana, Colorado, California and Georgia.
• Knife River acquires construction materials companies in eastern North Dakota, Wyoming and Texas, and begins a major corporate branding project.
• MDU Construction Services Group acquires a specialty excavation and utilities contractor in Nevada.
• MDU Resources Group is presented with Edison Electric Institute’s annual Index Award for outstanding shareholder return over a five-year period; total return for the period is an outstanding 212 percent.
• Williston Basin completes a major expansion project on its Grasslands Pipeline, adding additional delivery capacity. 

If your news organization needs photos or video B-roll of company operations, map graphics or company logos, contact the media team at media@mduresources.com or call 1-888-530-MDUR. In your e-mail, please clarify your usage and be specific in your request for materials. For after-hours requests, call the same number noted above.

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