The Dartmouth Refinery is a former

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

in Dartmouth,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, owned by Imperial Oil. It was located on the eastern side of

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbo ...

, and the crude oil arrived via

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

. It covered some south of central Dartmouth, with the

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...

around it being known as Imperoyal.

History

The refinery was founded in 1918, in part to meet the burgeoning needs of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It played an important role in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, providing the fuel for much of the Allied North Atlantic

convoys A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

. The site was originally the site of

Fort Clarence 300px, The archway by the fort's drawbridge was demolished in the 1930s. The fort, on the left, is now converted into flats. Fort Clarence is a now defunct fortification that was located in Rochester, Kent, England. History The fort was built b ...

, one of the eighteenth-century forts guarding the harbour against attack. On July 21, 2011, the refinery was temporarily shut down due to damage sustained during an

electrical storm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

. Scheduled maintenance was moved ahead to coincide with the repairs. Meanwhile, some fuel suppliers in the refinery's service area closed down due to a lack of supply and the wholesale price for gasoline in New York rose marginally.

Closing

On June 19, 2013, Imperial Oil announced that the company would be converting the refinery to a marine terminal planned for later in 2013. As a result, sales of

Bunker fuel Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), ...

to commercial shippers in the Port of Halifax were phased out,

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

and the production of butane and propane ended.More fallout from Dartmouth oil refinery shutdown
'CBCNEWS Nova Scotia June 26, 2013''

Refinery details

The refinery processed some . It was one of three refineries that supplied heating oil and gasoline to Atlantic Canada, the others being the considerably larger

Irving Oil Irving Oil Ltd. is a Canadian gasoline, oil, and natural gas producing and exporting company. Considered part of the Irving Group of Companies, it was founded by entrepreneur Kenneth "K.C." Irving and is privately owned by his son, Arthur, and h ...

refinery in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...

and the

Come By Chance Refinery Come By Chance Refinery was a crude oil refinery operated by North Atlantic Refining in Come By Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It has a refining capacity of . The plant is undergoing conversion to a biofuel operation. History The ref ...

in Newfoundland. The Dartmouth refinery supplied most of Nova Scotia's needs and provided oil and gas to all retail stations and bulk terminals in

. The refinery exported

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

market and employed some 200 people.

References

External links

Dartmouth Refinery(Imperial Oil website)Map of the refinery location
{{ExxonMobil Oil refineries in Canada Buildings and structures in Halifax, Nova Scotia ExxonMobil buildings and structures