Oil production up to 90,000 barrels a day

Processing capacity at the Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC) in Regina is improving, with the refinery now able to process 90,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD), according to the refinery’s owner, Federated Co-operatives Ltd. (FCL).

Capacity was reduced to 60,000 BOPD following a Dec. 24 explosion and fire at the refinery complex, which normally processes 130,000 BOPD.

“We will continue to operate at this level until repairs can be made to the damaged units,” said Gil Le Dressay, vice-president of refinery operations for FCL. “It is still too early in the assessment process to determine a timeline for the return to full production.”

Le Dressay thanked CRC staff for helping to deal with the incident and get production up by 50 per cent. “This includes the extraordinary efforts of CRC response teams, who mitigated and limited damages at the time of the incident, and those of employees who have secured additional supplies and made process and mechanical adjustments since the incident,” Le Dressay said in a press release Friday

The investigation into the cause of the incident, which damaged a unit used to manufacture gasoline from propane and butane, is being led by Regina Fire and Protective Services. Investigators are on site and CRC personnel are co-operating fully with investigators as they move from the least-damaged areas to the most damaged. Regina Fire and Protective Services have described the investigation as complex and early estimates are that a report into causation may take up to one year, the release said.

With additional supplies secured, FCL does not expect any shortages or restrictions to gasoline or diesel sales at retail co-operatives across Western Canada, the co-operative wholesaler said.

The Saskatoon-based company posted sales of $9.4 billion in the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, an increase of 7.4 per cent from the previous year. FCL’s net earnings from fiscal 2013 operations was $879 million.

In October, CRC completed the largest expansion project in its 80-year old history — the $2.7-billion Section V expansion — which increased refinery production capacity by 30 per cent to 130,000 barrels per day, However, the explosion and fire were confined to an older part of the refinery complex.