UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) June 1, 2005 (May 31, 2005)
MDU Resources Group, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 1-3480 41-0423660
(State or other jurisdiction (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)
Schuchart Building
918 East Divide Avenue
P.O. Box 5650
Bismarck, North Dakota 58506-5650
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (701) 222-7900
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended
to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant
under any of the following provisions:
- Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the
Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
- Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange
Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
- Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b)
under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
- Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c)
under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
Item 8.01. Other Events.
As previously disclosed, Fidelity Exploration & Production Company
(Fidelity), a subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (Company),
has been named as a defendant in, and/or certain of its operations
are or have been the subject of, more than a dozen lawsuits filed
in connection with its coalbed natural gas development in the
Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming. In consolidated suits
filed in the United States District Court for the District of
Montana (Montana Federal District Court), the Northern Plains
Resource Council and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe asserted that
further development by Fidelity and others of coalbed natural gas
operations in Montana should be enjoined until the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) completes a supplemental environmental impact
statement (SEIS) that takes into account the phased development of
this natural resource in the region. The Company has estimated
that it could take approximately eighteen months to two years for
the BLM to complete the SEIS.
On April 5, 2005, the Montana Federal District Court issued a
limited injunction which ordered, among other things, that while
the SEIS is being prepared, the BLM is enjoined from approving
applications for permits to drill (APDs) on federal leases outside
of a defined geographic area and that within this geographic area
the BLM is required to limit the number of production-related APDs
to keep the total number of federal, state and private wells to a
maximum of 500 new wells per year.
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe and the Northern Plains Resource
Council appealed the Montana Federal District Court's decision to
the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (9th Circuit), and on May 31,
2005, the 9th Circuit granted those parties' motions for an
injunction pending appeal. Under the terms of this injunction, and
pending further order of the 9th Circuit, the BLM is enjoined from
approving any coalbed natural gas production projects in the Powder
River Basin of Montana. Further, Fidelity is enjoined from
drilling any additional wells in its Montana Coal Creek Project and
from constructing any infrastructure necessary to produce and
transport coalbed natural gas from the Coal Creek Project's
existing wells.
The Company is studying the potential effects of the injunction
issued by the 9th Circuit, including its impact upon 2005
earnings. Based on its preliminary analysis, the Company believes
that the injunction could cause a reduction in the number of
new coalbed natural gas wells that Fidelity has planned to drill in
Montana during 2005 and in the overall coalbed natural
gas production levels previously estimated for 2005.
A related press release issued by the Company on June 1, 2005 is
incorporated by reference herein and is attached as Exhibit 99.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(c) Exhibits
99 Press Release issued June 1, 2005
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
MDU RESOURCES GROUP, INC.
Date June 1, 2005 BY /s/ Vernon A. Raile
Vernon A. Raile
Senior Vice President and
Chief Accounting Officer
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit Number Description of Exhibit
99 Press release issued June 1, 2005