New Brunswick's Petroleum Potential

New Brunswick is one of the oldest oil-producing provinces in the world, with one of the first oil wells in North America being drilled there in 1859. The province is a net producer of refined petroleum products and a significant supplier of gasoline to the United States East Coast. The Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John is the only refinery in New Brunswick and is the largest in Canada, with a capacity of 320,000 barrels per day. However, New Brunswick does not have any commercial crude oil production, and all of its crude oil supplies arrive by sea or rail.

New Brunswick is one of the oldest oil-producing provinces in the world

The Stoney Creek oil fields in Albert County started producing crude oil and gas in 1909. By 1923, the production of crude oil in Albert County was 308,984 gallons, and 619,673 thousand feet of gas. By 1925, sixty-six wells had been bored in the Stoney Creek oil fields.

In 1859, oil was also discovered in nearby Westmorland County. However, as the same year saw the discovery of a well in Pennsylvania that supplied all the oil needed in North America, no further exploration was done in Albert or Westmorland County. It wasn't until the development of the internal combustion engine in the early 20th century that demand for oil increased again.

New Brunswick's history in the oil industry goes back even further than the 1859 discovery. In the 1775 map of the English Middle Colonies, Louis Evans located petroleum deposits along the eastern seaboard.

The Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John is the largest in Canada

The Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, is Canada's largest refinery, with a capacity of over 300,000 barrels of refined products per day. Owned and operated by Irving Oil Limited Refining Division, a subsidiary of Irving Oil, the refinery supplies finished energy products to wholesale and retail markets, including gasoline, diesel, heating oil, jet fuel, propane, and asphalt. Over half of the energy products are exported to the northeast US, while the rest are sold in Eastern Canada.

The refinery was built in 1960 through a partnership between Irving Oil and Standard Oil Co. of California (SOCAL) on a 780-acre site in Saint John. The facility has undergone several upgrades and expansions over the years, with the most significant upgrade costing $1.5 billion in 2000. This upgrade improved the refinery's efficiency and flexibility in converting low-value heavy fuel oils to higher-value transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. It also enhanced its environmental performance by reducing sulphur emissions.

The Irving Oil Refinery receives most of its crude oil supply from the Irving Canaport Marine Terminal, which can receive ultra-large crude carriers and has a storage capacity of six million barrels. The terminal is located southeast of Saint John and began operations in 1970. Prior to this, crude oil was delivered through a smaller terminal on Courtney Bay, north of the Saint John Shipbuilding property.

In addition to its refinery operations, Irving Oil also has a network of gasoline stations, a fleet of oil tankers, and other related assets. The company was founded in 1924 by Canadian oil baron Kenneth "K.C." Irving, and it has since expanded across Canada and into the United States and Europe. Today, Irving Oil is one of the largest private conglomerates in North America and has been named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for eight consecutive years.

New Brunswick does not have any commercial crude oil production

The Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John, the only refinery in New Brunswick, produces refined petroleum products (RPPs) in excess of the province's needs. It operates primarily for exports to the US and neighbouring provinces. The refinery has a capacity of 320 thousand barrels per day and receives most of its crude oil supply from the Canaport Marine Terminal, which can accommodate ultra-large crude carriers and has a storage capacity of six million barrels.

While New Brunswick does not have any commercial crude oil production, it is a significant supplier of gasoline to the US East Coast. The province's motor gasoline demand in 2019 was 8% above the national average, and it consumed an average of 40.2 million cubic feet per day of natural gas in 2020.

In addition to the refinery in Saint John, Irving Oil also owns the Canaport crude-oil tank farm in Mispec Point, which supplies the refinery and has not paid provincial property taxes since 1980. This tax exemption was granted to help Irving Oil during the 1979 oil crisis but has continued for decades, saving the company over $20 million in taxes. However, this exemption appears to have ended, at least temporarily, as of 2023.

The province's crude oil supplies arrive by sea or rail

New Brunswick is one of the oldest oil-producing provinces in the world. However, it does not have any commercial crude oil production. Instead, it is a net producer of refined petroleum products (RPPs) and a significant supplier of gasoline to the United States East Coast. The Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John is the only refinery in New Brunswick and is the largest in all of Canada, with a capacity of 320,000 barrels per day. Over 80% of its production is exported to the US, accounting for 19% of the country's gasoline imports and 75% of Canada's gasoline exports to the US.

The Irving Oil Refinery primarily receives its crude oil supply from the company's Canaport Marine Terminal, which can receive ultra-large crude carriers (ULCC) and has an oil storage capacity of six million barrels. The terminal is located on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy, about 9km southeast of Saint John. In addition to receiving crude oil, the terminal can also receive and ship RPPs. The refinery also has a rail terminal with an estimated unloading capacity of 200,000 barrels per day.

The majority of the crude oil used by the refinery comes from non-Canadian sources, with Canadian sources including offshore Newfoundland and Labrador by tanker and western Canada by rail. The refinery's crude oil supply arrives by sea or rail as there are no crude oil pipelines in New Brunswick.

The province's oil and gas sector is responsible for 27% of its GHG emissions

New Brunswick is one of the oldest oil-producing provinces in the world. In 1859, one of the first oil wells in North America was drilled in the province, and most exploration for oil and gas since then has focused on the Albert formation.

While New Brunswick does not have any commercial crude oil production, it is a net producer of refined petroleum products (RPPs) and a significant supplier of gasoline to the US East Coast. The Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John is the only refinery in the province and the largest in Canada, with a capacity of 320,000 barrels per day. The refinery primarily serves exports to the US and neighbouring provinces, producing RPPs in excess of New Brunswick's needs.

In 2020, the province's GHG emissions were 12.4 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), a 23% decrease since 1990 and a 37% decrease since 2005. The largest emitting sectors in New Brunswick are oil and gas (primarily petroleum refining) at 27% of emissions, transportation at 26%, and electricity generation at 23%. Oil and gas sector emissions in 2020 were 3.4 MT CO2e, with 3.3 MT attributable to petroleum refining and 0.1 MT attributable to production, processing, and transmission.

The province has been taking steps to reduce GHG emissions. In 2019, the provincial government released a made-in-New Brunswick plan, Holding Large Emitters Accountable: New Brunswick's Output-Based Pricing System, to regulate industrial and electricity generation sectors. The plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining the province's economic competitiveness and job stability, and minimizing impacts on electricity rates. Additionally, New Brunswick has been producing yearly Climate Change Action Reports since 2007, calling for cooperation with industry to reduce GHG emissions and improve sustainability. The province's 2014 Climate Change Action Plan notes that New Brunswick will work with high-emission industries, including the oil and gas sector, to require and harmonize reporting of GHG emissions data.

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