Canadian convenience store operator Parkland Corp. is expanding its Burnaby, B.C. refinery to increase renewable fuel production and cut back on climate-polluting greenhouse gas emissions.
The corporation, whose businesses include On the Run and Ultramar, made the $600-million announcement Monday with B.C. Energy Minister Bruce Ralston.
Roughly 40 per cent of the project funds will come from the provincial government in the form of B.C. Low Carbon Fuel Standard Compliance Credits.
“Parkland’s plans to increase our province’s renewable fuel capabilities support our Clean BC targets,” said Ralston in a Monday news release. “This is a big step forward in our transition to a lower-carbon economy.”
The project is expected to increase the Burnaby refinery’s co-processing volumes to about 5,500 barrels per day and include a new, stand-alone renewable diesel complex that can produce roughly 6,500 barrels per day.
According to Parkland, the renewable fuels produced through the plans will have one-eighth of the carbon intensity of convention fuels and reduce related emissions by about two megatonnes per year.
In a news release, the corporation also said the expansion will create up to 1,000 jobs in its construction phase. It’s also in the process of determining the feasibility of producing sustainable aviation fuel as part of the project, to help decarbonize the aviation sector.
A final investment decision will be made in the second half of 2023, with production expected to begin in 2026, said Parkland.
The province’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard requires fuel supplies to decrease the average carbon intensity of their fuels and encourages them to invest in low-carbon fuel alternatives. The program also awards compliance credits to supplies to help increase the use of low-carbon fuels like hydrogen and electricity.
The B.C. government said Monday it has had several agreements with Parkland since 2015 under the program to support trials and commercialization of co-processing at its Burnaby refinery.
“Renewable fuels like the ones we are producing in Burnaby will continue to play a critical role in meeting CleanBC targets while at the same time helping motorists significantly lower their environmental footprint while using their existing vehicles,” said Parkland CEO Bob Espey in a release.
Under CleanBC, the province aims to support the development of 1.3 billion litres of renewable fuels, made in B.C. each year, by 2030.
Comments