The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is being felt throughout the province’s oil and gas industry.
North Atlantic Refining Limited has announced that production at the Come By Chance refinery is being put on hold and the facility is going into “standby mode.”
Local oil industry pundit, Rob Strong says that’s a significant announcement—taking 135,000 barrels of oil a day out of the marketplace.
(Rob Strong.)
Newfoundland consumers get their oil from the Irving Oil refinery in New Brunswick and the Ultramar refinery in Quebec. He’s assuming those two refineries can pick up the slack.
Strong says the move will postpone expansion plans at Come By Chance.
He says the company had planned to spend in excess of $200-million on upgrades. He hopes that will continue after the pandemic passes and once oil rises above the $23/barrel mark.
