Closed Canadian refineries are becoming marketable items for recycling.
A combine including two U.S. partners will participate in a project to convert a mothballed refinery at Point Tupper, N.S., to a supertanker terminal.
Meanwhile, a recently mothballed refinery at Balzac, near Calgary, may be sold to Viet Nam.
Global Petroleum of Massachusetts and Statia Terminals of Illinois will participate with Point Tupper Properties Ltd. in the $30 million Point Tupper plant conversion. Point Tupper Properties is a wholly owned subsidiary of Scotia Synfuels Ltd.
The group will spend $25 million on the former Gulf Oil refinery, mothballed since the mid-1980s. Nova Scotia will provide a secured loan of $5 million for the project.
The Point Tupper terminal in the Strait of Canso has a storage capacity of 50 million bbl. Large tankers will unload crude oil there for transshipment to mainly U.S. ports by smaller vessels. Petroleum products also will be blended at the terminal.
Renovations have begun at the refinery, which is expected to be ready to receive tanker traffic within 8 months.
Endeco International Ltd., Calgary, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Viet Nam to develop an oil refinery. It said the 10 year old, 30,000 b/d Balzac refinery, built in modules, may be suitable.
The refinery was operated until this year by Canadian Turbo Inc., which was bought by Pay Less Holdings Inc., Victoria, B.C.
Endeco is seeking financing of as much as $100 million to dismantle, move, and rebuild the refinery in Viet Nam near Ho Chi Minh City. The unit had a book value of $250 million when it was built in 1982.
Canadian Turbo said it has received many inquiries about the refinery, and the Endeco proposal is one of about 10 with serious potential.
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