Burnaby, B.C., oil refinery to fall under U.S. control in $9.1B deal

A boat travels past the Parkland Burnaby Refinery on Burrard Inlet at sunset in Burnaby, B.C., on Saturday, April 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

British Columbia’s largest oil refinery is set to fall under U.S. control this week with the expected takeover of Canadian fuel refiner and retailer Parkland Corporation by American fuel giant Sunoco.

The Parkland refinery in Burnaby, one of only two remaining refineries in B.C., will be sold as part of a US$9.1-billion deal that is expected to close on Oct. 31, according to the Calgary-based company’s latest quarterly earnings report.

The takeover deal cleared a major regulatory milestone earlier this month with Ottawa approving the sale under the Investment Canada Act, which considers whether foreign investments would be a net benefit to the country or cause potential harm to national security.

Sunoco confirmed in a news release Monday that the Texas-based company expected the deal to close on Friday, after which shares in the company would be issued to Parkland shareholders.

In addition to the Burnaby refinery, which supplies nearly one-third of the region’s domestic gasoline and jet fuel, Parkland owns the Ultramar, Chevron and Pioneer gas station chains.

The refinery, which processes crude oil shipped through the Trans Mountain pipeline, employs approximately 180 unionized workers who are represented by Unifor Local 601.

A spokesperson for Unifor on Wednesday declined to comment on the impending sale or its likely impacts on the refinery’s workers. The union previously raised alarm bells about the proposed deal given the unfolding tariff war between Canada and the U.S.

“This is not the time to hand over control of critical energy infrastructure to a foreign multinational, especially in the middle of a trade war,” said Lana Payne, Unifor’s national president, in a statement on May 9. “Energy security is national security, and we cannot afford to gamble with it.”

In an accompanying statement, the union’s western regional director Gavin McGarrigle described the Burnaby refinery as “essential for the region’s fuel supply,” adding British Columbians “deserve solid, enforceable commitments that this refinery will be sustained through continued investment.”

Once home to a small handful of oil refineries, the only other operational refinery in the province is located in Prince George and operated by Calgary-based Tidewater Midstream.

With files from The Canadian Press