Country Canada Refining units 33 Capacity 145,000 Province Saskatchewan Commissioned 27 May 1935 | No. of employees 800 Oil refining center Regina Founded 1934 City Regina Parent organization Federated Co-operatives | |
Operator Federated Co-operatives Limited Owner(s) Federated Co-operatives Limited | ||
Previously known as Consumers Co-operative Refinery Limited (CCRL) The Co-op Refinery Complex is an oil refinery spread over 544 acres (2.20 km2) located in the city of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada owned by Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL). The refinery provides oil products to the member co-operatives of Federated Co-operatives Limited. The complex has completed a $2.9 billion upgrade project (2012) that can increase operations up to 145,000 barrels per day (23,100 m3/d)
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History
On May 27, 1935, a group of 8 farmers from Saskatchewan started the world's first Co-operative Refinery. This went "on stream" as a 500 barrels-per-day Skimming Plant.
In 1939, the Co-op Refinery Complex signed a contract to build a Cracking Plant at a cost of some $250,000, which expanded production to 1,500 barrels per day.
On August 24, 1951, the Co-op Refinery Complex expanded to 5,000 barrels per day.
Today the Co-op Refinery Complex produces 130,000 bbl/d and covers 800 acres of land in the north east corner of Regina, Saskatchewan.
The refinery is located near the NewGrade Energy Inc. Upgrader used for the production of synthetic crude. The upgrader was originally constructed as a joint venture between the CRC and the Province of Saskatchewan (through Crown Investments Corporation) in 1988. The facility was the first upgrader built in Canada. On November 1, 2007, CCRL bought out the 50% interest held by the Crown for $383.1 million.
Explosions, Fires and Accidents
On October 6, 2011, an explosion occurred in the diesel processing area. This caused the site to be evacuated and sent seven people to hospital. The fire was expected to reduce the facility's diesel production by about 25 per cent, but did not affect its gasoline-processing operation. The refinery was undergoing a major expansion and renovation at the time which resulted in much higher numbers of personal on site at the time. All of the injured were employed by contractors. The explosion was found to be caused by a failure of corroded pipes. Consumers Co-operative Refinery Limited pleaded guilty to one of 5 Occupational Health and Safety charges and on May 12, 2015 was fined $280,000 for failing to ensure that work was "sufficiently and competently supervised". Fifty-two people had been injured the day of the explosion including 3 seriously.
There were two large-scale accidents reported in 2012, the first being an explosion on October 6, with an ensuing fire that hospitalized seven persons; the site was again in flames in the middle of May.
On February 11, 2013 the third major incident in 16 months occurred. A fire in the coker of the heavy oil upgrader section of the plant, shortly after midnight, resulted in no injuries.
On December 24, 2013 the fourth major incident in two years occurred. A fire and explosion, the cause of which is still being determined, could be felt throughout the entire city. No injuries were reported and all refinery staff were accounted for.
Around Midnight on Tuesday March 1, 2016 a rail car containing asphalt rolled, uncontrolled, several kilometers into the city of Regina after it left CCRL property in a runaway condition. Neither the City of Regina or Regina Fire and Protective Services were notified by CCRL and were unaware of the event until the following Friday, the same day on which media reports of the event emerged.