1958 : Manning wants markets

This article described the 2 opposing views in 1958 regarding how the big Montreal refinery market should be served. While the president of Imperial Oil expressed that Montreal refineries should not be forced to use domestic feedstocks, Alberta Premier Ernest Manning urged the Borden Commission to take immediate measures to expand the market for Canadian crude oil into Montreal. Manning argued that the dependence on Venezuelan crude in the Montreal refining market would pose a danger to the stability and development of the oil industry; loss of revenue for municipal, provincial and federal governments; and, an adverse effect on Canada's trade balance with the United States. The Premier suggested that these problems could be avoided by expanding the market for Canadian crude in Ontario and Quebec, in the U.S. Midwest, and in the Pacific Northwest. In 1958, the Canadian oil industry was divided on the Montreal market issue. Other key events in 1958 were listed. Waterton was characterized as Canada's biggest gas field, with reserves of 3 trillion cubic feet. A gas discovery at Berland River was considered the largest single-well exploration find in the world, flowing 27 million cubic feet per day on 1 drillstem. Two new refineries near Vancouver and Toronto were built to raise Canadian refining capacity to 813,000 barrels per day. 1 tab., 1 fig