Parkland Burnaby refinery begins 2023 turnaround

Calgary-based Parkland Corp. has started a previously scheduled planned maintenance turnaround at subsidiary Parkland Refining (B.C.) Ltd.’s 55,000-b/d refinery on Burrard Inlet in North Burnaby, near North Vancouver, BC.

Beginning on Feb. 1, the scheduled maintenance event will involve the temporary shutdown of unidentified process units to enable cleaning, inspection, and routine servicing of equipment to ensure the refinery continues operating safely, reliably, and optimally, Parkland said.

While the operator did not reveal further details of specific units or works involved in the turnaround, Parkland confirmed the scope of planned activities during the maintenance event will require about 600 people on site per shift, or roughly 200 more than during regular operation of the refinery.

In addition to elevated visible flaring beginning on Jan. 31 that could last 6-8 days as units come offline for maintenance, Parkland advised local communities surrounding the refinery of potentially increased noise levels during daytime hours due to industrial vacuuming, high-pressure water cleaning, and jackhammering.

Parkland said it expects the turnaround to run through early spring but that a precise timeframe for the maintenance period would depend on its assessment of equipment status after works begin.

In its 2023 guidance issued in early December 2022, Parkland told investors the Burnaby refinery’s first-quarter 2023 planned turnaround would run for 8 weeks and require an estimated $100 million (Can.) to complete.

Parkland’s Burnaby refinery executed its last scheduled maintenance event during October-November 2021, the company said.

Refinery overview

The Burnaby refinery processes light and synthetic Canadian crudes such as Edmonton Par 80% and Syncrude 20% into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, heating fuel, heavy fuel oil, butane, and propane for distribution throughout British Columbia.

Parkland Fuel purchased the Burnaby refinery—which was the first in Canada to use existing infrastructure and equipment to coprocess biofeedstocks such as canola oil and oil derived from animal fats (tallow) alongside crude oil to produce low-carbon fuels— and related downstream assets from Chevron Canada Ltd. in 2017 (OGJ Online, Apr. 20, 2017).

In 2022, the operator announced it is also considering investments at the refinery that would include expanding its existing renewable coprocessing capabilities as well as adding a grassroots renewable diesel complex at the site (OGJ Online, May 13, 2022).