Irving Oil inks deal to buy NARL’s Come-by-Chance refinery, other assets

Privately owned Irving Oil Ltd., Saint John, NB, has signed an agreement with Silverpeak, a New York-based investment management firm, to acquire the Silverpeak-North Atlantic partnership’s North Atlantic Refining Corp., which includes NARL Refining LP’s 130,000-b/d refinery at Come-by-Chance, Newf., as well as a network of retail sites and other marketing assets.

Signed on May 28, the purchase agreement remains subject to regulatory review and the meeting of unidentified conditions of sale, Irving Oil said.

Further details regarding the proposed transaction—including a timeline for the acquisition—were not disclosed.

NARL Refining—which paused production activities at Come-by-Chance refinery in late March to ensure safety of its employees, their families, and operations amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic—previously announced it is in the process of undertaking projects aimed at increasing crude flexibility and efficiency at the refinery as part of the operator’s strategy to support the site’s long-term viability and competitive advantage (OGJ Online, Apr. 1, 2020; Aug. 1, 2019; July 8, 2019).

Irving Oil currently owns and operates its 320,000-b/d St. John refinery in the eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick, as well as the 75,000-b/d Whitegate refinery in County Cork, Ireland.