The companies involved in the new deal for the Come by Chance refinery are giving full credit to the provincial government for not just making it happen, but coming up with the idea in the first place.
The plan is to convert the former oil refinery into a producer of renewable diesel and aviation fuel using biofuels from feedstock such as cooking oils and animal fat.
The facility will also be re-branded as Braya Renewable Fuels.
The new agreement will see Texas-based Cresta Fund Management acquire majority ownership in the refinery from Silverpeak, which remains a minority player. But Silverpeak partner Kaushik Amin says the government’s role can’t be overstated.
He says the combination of a proactive government, which came up with the idea for renewable diesel, as well as the location were prime considerations in getting the deal done.
(Come By Chance Refinery, courtesy North Atlantic Refining.)
Meanwhile, United Steelworkers rep Glenn Nolan says the news came as a great relief, even if there are fewer jobs to start with.
He says they knew there would be fewer jobs initially but he pointed to assurance of more employment in later phases of the project, adding it’s better than no jobs which was the case for the past 18 months.
There are currently about 400 people working on converting the refinery for its new purpose.
It’s expected to be up and running by mid-2022 with 200 full-time jobs to start, compared to the 400 employed pre-pandemic.
