Structure of the Industry

In the 1970s there were 59 refineries in Canada, by the early 1980s this number had dropped to 40. The rationalization resulted from the significant decline in the demand for petroleum products, especially gasoline, in the 1980s following the price shocks in 1973 and 1979 and weak economic conditions throughout the 1980s. The decline was about 20% to a total of about 80 billion litres per year.

Currently there are 18 refineries operating within Canada. The Canadian refineries directly employed about 10,000 Canadians in 2003. Twenty nine thousand were employed in wholesaling, marketing and distribution of refined oil products. Sixty thousand worked in retail outlets for petroleum products.

Since the early 1990s, refining capacity has been more stable and demand has been increasing moderately. In 2003, consumption totalled 94 billion litres - including about 40 billion litres of motor gasoline and 23 billion litres of diesel fuel.

In order to supply products to the dispersed Canadian markets, refineries are situated right across the country with major refining centres (locations with more than one refinery) found in Edmonton, Sarnia, and Montreal.

Most of the sector is represented by the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (CPPI). Only Irving Oil in New Brunswick and Consumer's Co-op in Saskatchewan do not currently belong to this association.