MINOT (AP) - Minot officials are assessing how their city can grow with the energy development in North Dakota.

The Minot Area Chamber of Commerce formed a new Energy Committee early this year to evaluate the city's role in attracting energy-related businesses.

Oil is a primary focus of the committee, but not the only one.

"We want to make the Minot area community amenable to growth in all aspects of energy, wind or otherwise - not just oil," said Dick White, the group's chairman.

Members of the Minot Area Development Corp., have been considering going to Louisiana or Texas to learn from the experience of communities there. Corporation Chairman Jerry Chavez said a recent petroleum conference in Minot led to interest in the area from a number of companies.

Leader Energy Services and Hess Corporation have both nailed their Minot locations. The ground where the Great Plains Energy Park will be located east of Minot is starting to show plot stakes and utility marker flags.

Pumpco and Pure Energy Services are set to become tenants of the park.

Pure Energy received assistance from Minot's job development fund.

Another company, Fiberglass Specialties, received a $90,000 interest buydown from the fund to build a new shop to make saltwater tanks for use by oil companies. Owner Terry Domres said the company's business now is about "99 percent" with railroad companies. He hopes that once the new shop gets up and running, sales to the oil companies will move to around 50 percent.

Filling jobs has been a challenge.

"With the (oil) patch taking everybody under 30 … it seems like everybody who's left is either happy with their job or don't want to change at this time," Domres said.