Co-op refinery reduces production due to low demand, market conditions

The self-isolation measures being taken by Canadians due to COVID-19 are having an impact on the Co-op Refinery Complex in Regina.

On Thursday, the refinery issued a media release saying it was reducing production to 90,000 barrels per day from the 110,000 to 120,000 barrels per day it was producing over the past three months.

The refinery said the reduction was in response to reduced demand for gasoline resulting from people staying at home, as well as to market conditions created by low oil prices.

The Co-op added that further reductions could be necessary based on consumer demand.

“While we’re turning down the refinery’s daily production, we want customers to know that we have planned for this,” Gil Le Dressay, the vice-president of refinery operations, said in the release.

“Over the past few months, we have taken steps to maximize the utilization of our storage capacity and supply chain network throughout Western Canada. This will ensure the market has the product in place to meet demand.”

Le Dressay noted that there is sufficient supply on hand for agricultural producers who are preparing for seeding.

The refinery added it typically reduces production in April during its annual turnaround, but this reduction is expected to last longer.

The refinery and its unionized workers still are embroiled in a labour dispute. The company locked out employees on Dec. 5 after their union, Unifor, issued strike notice.

Voting underway

In a media release issued late Wednesday, Unifor said voting had started on the Co-op’s final offer.

The company applied to the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board to order a vote by the union members. The company can do so under Section 6.35 of the Saskatchewan Employment Act.

Unifor said mail-in voting initially was to close on Friday, but the deadline has been extended to April 24 due to what the union called “an administrative error by Co-op Refinery that delayed voting by three days.”

The union had accepted recommendations that were contained in the final report submitted by mediators appointed by the provincial government, but the Co-op didn’t agree to those terms.

Instead, the company came back with a new proposal based on an amended version of the mediator’s report and then applied to the labour relations board to force the vote.