Oil refinery in Atlantic Canada to produce renewable diesel, SAF by mid-2022

The Canadian provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced Nov. 30 that it has reached an agreement with NARL Refining Limited Partnership and NARL Logistics to help facilitate Cresta Fund Management’s acquisition of a majority interest in NARL Refining from Silverpeak. The result will be a rebranding of the Come By Chance refinery complex as Braya Renewable Fuels, as the petroleum-refining facility will be converted to produce renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Based on this agreement with the province, Silverpeak and Cresta Fund Management have reached their final agreements regarding Cresta’s purchase into the Come By Chance refinery.

On July 26, NARL Refining Limited Partnership and Cresta announced they had reached an agreement in principle, for the purchase of the Come By Chance refinery. According to Cresta, the first phase of the conversion would change Come By Chance refinery to a facility capable of initially producing 588,000 gallons of SAF and renewable diesel daily by about mid-2022. A second phase will seek to double the capacity of the refinery.

A new 10-year environmental indemnity with the provincial government, which includes a cap on liability for the province that didn’t exist in the previous indemnity, will require the Come By Chance refinery site to maintain employment levels at no less than 200 FTEs (Each FTE is equal to 2,080 person hours) of paid work in a 12-month period; maintain fuel supply to the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador; and maintain operations of the refinery.

This new 10-year environmental indemnity arrangement for the refinery site will replace the existing indemnity, which is set to expire in November 2024, and enables Cresta to acquire a majority interest in the refinery.

In January, the provincial government entered into a funding agreement with North Atlantic Refining Limited Partnership to keep the refinery in warm-idle mode while the owner continued to pursue the sale of the refinery to Cresta Fund Management.

“Our government has worked with all stakeholders to ensure a long-term future for the North Atlantic Refinery,” said Andrew Furey, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. “This agreement will help facilitate Cresta’s acquisition of a majority interest in the refinery with the aim of converting it to sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel production, securing employment for workers and a long term environmentally sustainable solution.”

Andrew Parsons, minister of industry, energy and technology, said, “It’s been a long year for the workers of the refinery who have been concerned about their future. This agreement supports the Cresta sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel project opportunity and investment. The conversion of the refinery to a renewable fuel facility is positive news for the province and would ensure a bright future for the refinery and its workers.”

Silverpeak Partner Kaushik Amin added, “Today, we celebrate an important milestone in our efforts to make one of the top five largest renewable diesel projects in the world a reality. Along with our agreement with Cresta, and the support of the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the more than 400 workers who are diligently engaged in construction at the refinery site, we are ensuring the long-term sustainability of this facility for the province.”

The transformative investment comes 50 years after the Come By Chance complex’s original groundbreaking, according to Chris Rozzell, Cresta Fund Management managing partner. “We’re proud to be associated with this new chapter for the refinery as it fully transitions from fossil fuels to the production of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel, fuels that will be critical to decarbonizing the aviation and heavy-transport sectors,” Rozzell said. “We also applaud the concrete steps the government of Canada is taking to meet its climate objectives, and we look forward to a collaboration to position Braya Renewable Fuels to play a vital role in boosting the country’s capacity to produce clean fuels.”