Cost and competitiveness impact of GHG reductions on the Canadian refining industry

This presentation outlines the current state of the Canadian petroleum products business and the issues facing the industry in an increasingly more competitive market and growing concern about greenhouse gas emissions. Reference is made to studies showing that the industry has been making progress in improving its operations, i.e. refinery emissions have been declining since 1990. Looking into the future, it is predicted that the smaller size of Canadian refineries especially in the eastern Canadian market, will have a hard time to compete with the generally larger competing refineries in the U.S. Midwest and Atlantic Basin. Other predictions suggest that eastern Canadian refineries are vulnerable to increased distressed imports from the U.S.; the imposition of carbon tax would penalize the cracking refineries more than coking refineries; the demand for low sulphur fuels will increase emissions due to operating problems; and any climate change initiatives which reduce demand for petroleum products will likely result in further rationalization of the Canadian industry