NARL halts operations at Come-by-Chance refinery

NARL Refining LP has paused production activities at its 130,000-b/d refinery at Come-by-Chance, Newf., to ensure safety of its employees, their families, and operations amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“We have a robust, phased plan to safely transition the refinery into standby mode. The refinery will maintain a reduced workforce with the primary tasks of maintaining the facility and the performance of storage and inventory services,” said Jette Enevoldsen, chief operations officer of North Atlantic Refinery Ltd.

In the short term, NARL Refining’s marketing team will maintain product deliveries to customers and retail locations as usual as the company continues working with government officials to ensure supply and delivery of essential products to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, according to Enevoldsen.

While the refinery has no reported cases of COVID-19, the company’s decision comes as part of compliance with advice of public health officials to further prevent the spread of the virus as well as its policy of prioritizing safety of its operations.

“These are unprecedented times for every industry. We are making these decisions today to ensure that we are in the best possible position to return to normal operations as soon as it is safe and economically feasible to do so,” Enevoldsen added.

The operator did not disclose a definitive timeframe for when it will resume normal operations at the refinery but did confirm plans to provide regular progress updates.

NARL Refining 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 long-term viability and competitive advantage of operations (OGJ Online, Aug. 1, 2019; July 8, 2019).