One refinery boasts a successful history dating back to the late 1800’s, when most people got around by horse and buggy and predating the first motorcar. Today, Imperial is the Canadian extension of majority stakeholder ExxonMobil, the ninth largest company on Earth by revenue, according to Forbes. That scale is its Sarnia operation’s greatest advantage.
From refineries, you get a refined oil product; that’s pretty obvious. In addition to fuels, refineries produce feedstocks that are used to create lifesaving medical products, and many of the preservatives that keep food from spoiling. In fact, more than 6,000 products rely on derivatives from oil.
Children appreciate the smoothness of asphalt. To them, it can be a practical and expansive canvas that brings hopscotch and tic-tac-toe to life. To adults, it’s so ubiquitous it’s rarely noticed, unless we hit a pothole.
People are sometimes surprised to learn that asphalt is produced at petroleum refineries. Here’s a brief 101 on the process:
The snow and ice in this part of the world can be beautiful, but it can also challenge drivers. In some places in Canada, the snow was flying early. For the rest, we’re getting ahead of the chill and passing along some information and tips about winter driving, from the fuel we use to the tires we drive on.
Given Canada’s abundant crude oil, you might be surprised to learn that Canada also imports it from a diverse range of countries from the United States to as far away as Nigeria and Kazakhstan.
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