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<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000067716-05-000058.txt : 20050324
<SEC-HEADER>0000067716-05-000058.hdr.sgml : 20050324
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20050324164100
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000067716-05-000058
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	8-K
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		2
CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT:	20050324
ITEM INFORMATION:		Other Events
ITEM INFORMATION:		Financial Statements and Exhibits
FILED AS OF DATE:		20050324
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20050324

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			MDU RESOURCES GROUP INC
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000067716
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	MINING, QUARRYING OF NONMETALLIC MINERALS (NO FUELS) [1400]
		IRS NUMBER:				410423660
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		8-K
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	001-03480
		FILM NUMBER:		05702449

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		918 EAST DIVIDE AVENUE
		CITY:			BISMARCK
		STATE:			ND
		ZIP:			58506-5650
		BUSINESS PHONE:		7012227900

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		918 EAST DIVIDE AVENUE
		CITY:			BISMARCK
		STATE:			ND
		ZIP:			58506-5650

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	MONTANA DAKOTA UTILITIES CO
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19850429
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>8-K
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>mdu8k324termoceara.txt
<DESCRIPTION>MDU RESOURCES GROUP, INC. 8-K
<TEXT>


       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) March 24, 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.

     On March 24, 2005, MDU Resources Group, Inc. (the "Company")
issued a press release announcing that MPX Holdings, the Company's
Brazilian partnership with EBX Capital Partners, reached an
agreement in principle with Brazilian state-controlled energy firm
Petrobras, suspending arbitration proceedings and providing a
framework for the sale of its MPX Termoceara, Ltda. generating
plant to Petrobras.  The press release which is incorporated by
reference herein, is attached as Exhibit 99.

Item 9.01.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

     (c)  Exhibits

          99   Press Release issued March 24, 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   March 24, 2005       BY   /s/ Warren L. Robinson
                                Warren L. Robinson
                                Executive Vice President and
                                  Chief Financial Officer


                           EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit Number                       Description of Exhibit

   99                                Press release issued March 24, 2005

</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>exh99termocearasale324.txt
<DESCRIPTION>ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO SELL TERMOCEARA TO PETROBRAS
<TEXT>

  MDU Resources Announces Agreement to Sell Termoceara to Petrobras


Bismarck, N.D. - March 24, 2005 - MDU Resources Group, Inc.
(NYSE:MDU) announced today that its Brazilian partnership with EBX
Capital Partners, MPX Holdings, has signed a term sheet with
Brazilian state-controlled energy firm Petrobras, suspending
arbitration proceedings and providing a framework in principle to
sell its MPX Termoceara, Ltda. generating plant to Petrobras.

The term sheet provides for the sale to Petrobras of MPX Termoceara
for US $137 million, (including $5 million currently in a court
deposit) subject to possible adjustment based on Petrobras due
diligence. MPX and Petrobras have agreed to immediately suspend all
arbitration and judicial proceedings between them relating to
Termoceara pending completion of the sale.

"MPX Termoceara has been a solid investment overall for our
corporation, our shareholders and all of our stakeholder interests.
The sale of the facility will also benefit those groups," said
Martin A. White, chairman, president and chief executive officer of
MDU Resources.

The sale is contingent on the parties entering into a definitive
purchase agreement, the satisfactory completion of a due diligence
review and audit of MPX Termoceara and certain other matters. It is
anticipated that the sale would be completed by mid-year 2005.

"The parties have actively worked together to reach a mutually
acceptable resolution of this issue," said Paul Gatzemeier,
president and chief executive officer of Centennial Energy Resources
LLC, the independent power production unit of MDU Resources. "While
we have agreed to sell our interest in Termoceara, we are continuing
to pursue other international opportunities."

MPX Termoceara, of which MDU Resources owns 49 percent, is a 220-
megawatt electric generating facility in northeastern Brazil. The
facility was permitted, developed and constructed beginning in 2001.

MDU Resources Group, Inc., a member of the S&P MidCap 400 index,
provides value-added natural resource products and related services
that are essential to energy and transportation infrastructure. MDU
Resources includes natural gas and oil production, construction
materials and mining, domestic and international independent power
production, electric and natural gas utilities, natural gas
pipelines and energy services, and utility services. For more
information about MDU Resources, see the company's Web site at
www.mdu.com or contact the investor relations department at
investor@mduresources.com.

The information in this release includes certain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding the proposed
sale of the MPX Termoceara generating plant.  The forward-looking
statements contained in this release are expressed in good faith and
are believed by the Company to have a reasonable basis.
Nonetheless, actual results may differ materially from the projected
results expressed in the forward-looking statements.  Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements include the potential
inability of the Company and Petrobras to agree on the terms of a
definitive purchase agreement; the potential inability of the
parties to satisfy the conditions to the sale that may be contained
in a definitive agreement; political, regulatory and economic
conditions in Brazil which could negatively affect the value of MPX
Termoceara, and fluctuations in foreign currency exchanges rates.
For a discussion of other important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-
looking statements, refer to Part I and Part II, Item 7 -
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations - Risk Factors and Cautionary Statements that
May Affect Future Results, in the Company's most recent Form 10-K.

                           * * * * * * * *
Contacts:

Warren Robinson, executive vice president and chief financial
officer, (701) 222-7991

Art Thompson, senior public information representative, (701) 222-7996

</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
</SEC-DOCUMENT>
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