It used to be the image of a modern oilman was a Middle Eastern sheik. But more and more, it’s an American Mid-WESTERNER. Case in point, this article from the Bangor (Maine) Daily News. The town of Bucksport, Maine could become the home of one of the largest biodiesel plants in the Northeastern United States.

Dirigo Biofuels, an Iowa-based company whose owners have experience developing similar refineries in the Midwest, is working on plans for a plant in Bucksport that would produce 30 million gallons of biodiesel fuel from vegetable oil each year.

Tobin Bush, the project coordinator for Dirigo Biofuels, tells the Bangor Daily News that Bucksport is a good choice because it is close to where people would be using it and has a deep-water port.

“Most of the feed stock [raw materials] is being grown in the Midwest, but the final product is used on the coast,” he said. “Maine is right in the heart of the home heating fuel market.”

The company plans to rely on the deep-water access in Bucksport to bring in the vegetable oils it will use in the refinery, and, potentially, to ship the finished product to customers.

Plans are for the plant to be up and fully running by the end of the year, but Bush admits there’s still a distance to go to finish the deal.