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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Oil and petroleum |
| Founded | Irving filling station: April 1924; 101 years ago (1924-04) Bouctouche,New Brunswick, Canada Irving Oil Company: February 1929; 96 years ago (1929-02) Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Founder | K. C. Irving |
| Headquarters | Irving Oil Home Office Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada |
Key people | James K. Irving Arthur Irving John E. Irving |
| Products | Fuels, Lubricants,Petrochemicals |
| Parent | Irving Group of Companies |
| Website | www |
Irving Oil Ltd. is a Canadian privately owned intergenerationalgasoline,oil, andnatural gas producing and exporting company, a subsidiary of the parent companyIrving Group of Companies,[1] one of the largest "private conglomerates" in North America.[2] Irving Oil was established in 1924 by Canadian oil baron and billionaire,Kenneth "K.C." Irving, whose family fortune when he died in 1992 was estimated by Forbes at USD$5 billion.[2] His son,Arthur, became chairman and president of Irving Oil. Arthur Irving died in 2024.[1]
Irving Oil operates Canada's largest refinery, theIrving Oil Refinery, inSaint John, New Brunswick, and Ireland's onlyrefinery, inWhitegate, County Cork, as well as a network of gasoline stations, fleet ofoil tankers, real estate and other related assets. Irving Oil'sHome Office is located in Uptown Saint John and was officially opened in 2019.
In April 1924,Kenneth Colin (K.C.) Irving, a then-25-year-oldautomobile salesman, started what would later become Irving Oil when he opened his firstfilling station in his hometown ofBouctouche.[3] On October 13, 1925, Irving took control over theForddealership business inSaint John.[4] Most modern sources attribute 1924 as being the year Irving Oil was founded; the first incorporation of a company which eventually led to the establishment of Irving Oil wasK. C. Irving, Limited, which took place in late November 1926.[5] Afterwards, the incorporation ofK. C. Irving Oil and Gas Company, Limited, which was done underNova Scotia jurisdiction, took place in May 1928. Irving Oil was then incorporated in February 1929 asIrving Oil Company, Limited, with the newly-formed company being headquartered in Saint John; it acquired the precedingK. C. Irving Oil and Gas Company, Limited, the "gasoline and oil division" ofK. C. Irving, Limited, as well as the Bore Motor Fuel Company,[6][7][8] aMoncton-based company previously unrelated to Irving which was incorporated on March 20, 1924.[9] By November 1929, the company expanded; throughout theMaritime provinces, Irving Oil Company went from 10 wholesale bulk stations to 30 since its formation earlier that year. The company also went from having 27 retail service stations distributing its products to 450.[10] The following year, the company went forward with developments toward creating an oil plant; the Saint John Harbor Commissioners leased out land for the company to go through with these developments.[11][12] In August 1931, an unconfirmed report claimed that the company was acquired byImperial Oil;[13] by the end of that year, Irving Oil had grown to become one of the largest gasoline distributors in the Maritimes.[14]
The company expanded across the Maritimes through the 1930s, toQuebec in 1940,Newfoundland in 1949, and toMaine in 1972.[15]
In 1977, Irving Oil became the first Canadian oil company to offer unleaded gasoline at its retail outlets. In the late 1990s it became the first oil company in Canada and one of the first in North America to offer gasoline with very low sulphur content, a fact which was recognized by many automobile manufacturers.[16]
Due to its investment in reducing emissions, Irving Oil was one of the few energy companies inCanada to publicly support theKyoto Accord.[17][18]
The resignation of president Ian Whitcomb, in February 2024, amid ongoing leadership changes and a strategic review, suggests potential significant shifts in the future direction of the company.[19]
In 1960, the company partnered withStandard Oil Co. of California (SOCAL) to build theIrving Oil Refinery on the east side of Saint John. Irving bought out SOCAL's share of the refinery in the late 1980s and expanded the facility to become Canada's largest refinery, processing over 300,000 barrels per day (48,000 m3/d). In the late 1990s, the refinery was upgraded to create some of North America's lowest-emission petroleum.
Since 1970, the refinery has been served by theCanaport crude oil receiving terminal southeast of Saint John. In 2009, this facility was expanded to host theCanaport LNG terminal for importingliquefied natural gas (LNG).[20]
Irving Oil announced in fall 2006 that it had purchased more land near Canaport and was examining the feasibility of constructing another 300,000-barrel (48,000 m3) refinery in the area to complement the original modernized 1960s-era refinery in the east end of Saint John; the new refinery was to be named the "Eider Rock Refinery" and was to be built under a partnership between Irving Oil andBP plc.[21] On July 24, 2009 both companies announced that they were indefinitely postponing plans to build the second refinery.[22]
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Irving Oil's core retail area is in northeast North America and is well served by a network of regional ports and harbours in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and New England - an area that is under-served by pipelines. Consequently, the company economically transports much of its petroleum products to regional distribution terminals at ports throughout the region using its own fleet of coastal tankers.
TheIrving Whale, an oil barge owned by Irving Oil's sister firmJ.D. Irving Ltd., was carrying a cargo of 4300 tons ofNo. 6 fuel oil for Irving Oil when it sank in theGulf of St. Lawrence on September 7, 1970, causing a large initial oil spill and subsequent leaks for the next 26 years until it was salvaged by the federal government on July 30, 1996.[23]
In the 1990s, Irving Oil also took delivery of severalUltra Large Crude Carriers to deliver crude oil to the Saint John refinery from production locations inVenezuela, thePersian Gulf and theNorth Sea.
Irving Oil operates a large fleet of company-branded tanker trucks to deliver petroleum to retail locations from its Saint John refinery as well as the marine distribution terminals. Since the 1970s these semi-trailer tanker trucks were painted a distinctive golden yellow but the fleet underwent a paint scheme change in the 2000s to use white for both cab and trailer. Irving Oil's home heating fuel delivery truck fleet was similarly coloured and is undergoing a paint scheme change.
Sister company J.D. Irving Limited owns and operatesRST Industries which provides road tanker transport services for Irving Oil's wholesale deliveries,[24] as well as for jet fuel, marine fuel, liquid asphalt, and other products.
Irving Oil once made extensive use of rail service to deliver petroleum from theSaint John refinery to rail-side distribution terminals throughout Atlantic Canada and Quebec. The decline in rural branch rail lines operated byCanadian National Railway andCP Rail in the 1980s and 1990s, combined with the increase of 4-lane highway construction, has seen Irving Oil eliminate practically all retail petroleum delivery by rail and the closure of many of its rail-side distribution terminals in favour of newer highway-served terminals or direct deliveries.
Irving Oil continues to make extensive use of rail service for wholesale petroleum deliveries from its Saint John refinery. Products such as propane, liquid asphalt and diesel are delivered daily to locations in Quebec and New England viaNew Brunswick Southern Railway, owned by sister company J.D. Irving Limited as well as by CN.
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Irving Oil operates bulk furnace oil and propane outlets in most major centres acrossAtlantic Canada,New England andQuebec as well as select locations in easternOntario, almost all of which are supplied from its Saint John refinery.
Irving Oil also operates over 900gas stations in these jurisdictions. In recent decades, smaller stations have been closed and consolidated as newer, larger facilities are constructed - Irving owns many choice real estate locations in communities across northeastern North America, some of which are no longer used for gas retailing, and others being held in speculation of some future need. Older stations are typically franchise operations and still have automobile service and repair shops, which in recent years are branded byMeineke.
Most of Irving Oil's corporate owned-and-operated stations also containconvenience stores. These locations operated as simply "Irving" stations until the late 1990s, when the "Mainway" banner ("Marché Mainway" inQuebec) was introduced; "Mainway" being a brand appropriated from one of Irving's U.S. acquisitions. By the early 2000s, 56 of the company's Quebec locations had been leased to theCouche-Tard chain and rebranded accordingly, conversely 60 of Couche-Tard's fueling stations were supplied by Irving fuels and re-branded accordingly. By the mid 2000s, Irving began to renovate and rebrand its old "Mainway" stations under the name "Bluecanoe" as part of the company's modernization plan. The Bluecanoe brand was first introduced in New England and was introduced to some stations in eastern Ontario and the Atlantic provinces; however, many others were not upgraded and retained the older name "Mainway".
On May 8, 2008, Irving announced that they would lease 252 of its gas stations in Atlantic Canada and New England to Couche-Tard for 20 years. Their gas remain supplied by Irving, but their convenience stores were converted toCircle K.[25][26] In 2018, following Couche-Tard's acquisition ofCST Brands (which saw most of its Canadian assets sold toParkland Fuel), 36Ultramar gas stations in Atlantic Canada were converted to Irving/Circle K locations. Of them, 13 were in turn sold to Irving Oil and leased by Couche-Tard.[27][28][29]
Irving Oil also operates several "Big Stops", which are truck stops featuring family restaurants, facilities for truck drivers, and convenience stores. These large stations are located at strategic locations throughoutNew England, theMaritimes,Quebec andNewfoundland.
They occupy several hectares near important highway interchanges and junctions and have been developed since the 1970s; some of the oldest Big Stops are still in operation with the interiors being evocative of that era. These locations, aside from their convenience store operations, continue to be operated by Irving Oil.
In the past decade, Irving Oil has opened several new Big Stops in New Brunswick to reflect the modernized and realigned arterial highway network in that province, and these facilities contain restaurants that have their own name and identity which are often reflective of the local area. The first modern Big Stop is inSalisbury, NB, and its restaurant is called "The Silver Fox"; the second one to open was inLincoln, NB and has a restaurant called "The Blue Canoe"; the third was inGrand Falls, NB with a restaurant called "The Back Forty"; the most recent is inEnfield, NS with a restaurant called "Crossing" - the original name for the community.
Examples of vertical integration within the "Irving Group of Companies" (as the Irving family refers to their holdings) include the acquisition or formation of businesses along the entire chain of production, from theIrving refinery (an Irving Oil subsidiary) and its retail outlets, to the transportation subsidiaries ofJ.D. Irving (RST, Midland, NB Southern, Sunbury), to various construction and engineering companies that assist in building, maintaining and expanding the conglomerate's facilities. Further examples of vertical integration within the conglomerate include Industrial Security Ltd. (ISL), the wholly owned security company that guards facilities, as well as industrial suppliers such as Thornes, Universal Sales and Commercial Equipment Ltd. which provide specialty goods and services to its companies.J.D. Irving, the sister firm to Irving Oil, is a dominant forestry company in northeastern North America, growing trees, harvesting trees and producing lumber, pulp and paper, and various enhanced value products such as magazine grade paper, tissue, and personal care products. James Irving also ownsBrunswick News which controls most English-language newspapers in New Brunswick.
The City ofSaint John, where Irving Oil is located, is closely tied to the Irving Group of Companies, which are mostly headquartered there. In 2000,New Brunswick New Democratic Party leaderElizabeth Weir released documents accessed under theRight to Information Act surrounding $1 billion upgrades being put in motion for the oil refinery by the government without being completely assessed for its environmental impact, suggesting that the government "ignored the public interest and pandered to big business."[30]
The July 2013Lac-Mégantic, Quebecrail tanker explosion increased awareness in Saint John of potential rail safety issues involving Irving Oil crude shipments, since the train that exploded was on its way to the Irving Oil refinery there.[31] Irving Oil's siting of a crude oil rail terminal in an east neighbourhood of the city drew heavy criticism from environmentalists and residents.[32] Irving Oil was allowed to establish the terminal without environmental assessments. The facility has since faced complaints regarding air quality and noise.[33][34]
There was also conflict in Saint John over the proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline that was to cross through a major municipal park. However, it is unknown if there would be any health risks to the community.
The Dominion newspaper, an independent Canadian newspaper, has criticized Irving's ownership of Brunswick News, as well as the newspapers' journalistic integrity, particularly when reporting on companies controlled by the Irving family such as Irving Oil.[35] Even the Canadian Senate has examined the issue; a report from the Senate in 2006 on media control in Canada singled out New Brunswick because of the Irving companies' ownership of all English-language daily newspapers in the province, including the Telegraph-Journal. Senator Joan Fraser, author of the Senate report, stated, "We didn't find anywhere else in the developed world a situation like the situation in New Brunswick."[36] The report went further, stating, "the Irvings' corporate interests form an industrial-media complex that dominates the province" to a degree "unique in developed countries." At the Senate hearing, journalists and academics cited Irving newspapers' lack of critical reporting on the family's influential businesses.[37]
There have also been accusations of Irving family political patronage, notably involvingAllan Rock andClaudette Bradshaw of theLiberal Party of Canada.[38]
In 1987, Irving Oil sued thefederal government for $141 million, citing the amount as being "taxes and interest" which were "wrongly assessed against the company from 1971 to 1975." In response, the government alleged that Irving Oil used a "sham"price system to "hide swollen profits fromRevenue Canada, which has disallowed the company's claimed costs."[39][40]
In 1981, the provincial government, then-led byRichard Hatfield, granted atax exemption towards provincialproperty taxes for Irving Oil'sCanaport crude oil farm. Hatfield, who, according toCBC News, "was on record opposing special tax treatment for Irving Oil's Canaport oil terminal," granted the exemption following the1979 oil crisis. Despite the issues caused by the crisis having long been resolved, the tax exemption has never been removed,[41] saving Irving Oil from having to pay for over $20 million in property taxes since its introduction.[42]Blaine Higgs, the thenPremier and leader of theProgressive Conservative Party, stated during a 2016 CBC interview withHarry Forestell that he would "support ending a provincial property-tax exemption on Irving Oil's Canaport oil terminal, if a review showed it was no longer needed," though progress regarding the matter has yet to have been made, despite calls for the removal of the exemption,[41] including by provincialGreen Party leaderDavid Coon, whose campaign for the2018 election included the removal of the exemption.[42] In March 2023,Service New Brunswick accidentally reverted the exemption and charged Irving Oil about $580,000 in Canaport property taxes, in what was described as an "inadvertent internal computer incident." The charge was later reverted and the exemption was reinstated.[41]
In March 2005, Irving Oil received a controversial municipaltax concessions for the Canaport site which were initially passed by theSaint John City Council and subsequently the Progressive Conservative government led byBernard Lord. The concessions, which reduced Irving Oil's municipal property taxes from $8 million down to being capped at $500,000 until 2030,[43] were initiated in order to develop the Canaport LNG (liquid natural gas) terminal; it was apparently negotiated one-on-one with the city's then-mayorNorm McFarlane. The concessions have cost the City of Saint John approximately $75 million over ten years, with a potential total loss of over $180 million. The tax break was cancelled in December, 2016 at the request of Saint John city council, with unanimous support in the Legislative Assembly.[44][45][46] In 2015, theTelegraph-Journal, a daily newspaper then-owned by Irving, published aneditorial arguing against reconsideration of the tax concessions granted to Irving Oil, without acknowledging the conflict of interest.[47] In 2016, coverage of Saint John Common Council advocacy for higher taxation of Irving Oil's refinery was notably absent from the newspaper, despite extensive coverage in CBC and other news outlets.[citation needed]
In 2022, it was revealed through leaked financial documents that during 2005, the same year that they had persuaded municipal and provincial governments in what ultimately granted them the tax concessions, Irving Oil made $250.7 million in profits. The corporation even profited $111.2 million during the2008 financial crisis, which severely dropped oil prices.[48]
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