Irving Oil Ltd. has confirmed an investment of $235 million in the upcoming annual fall turnaround activities starting in September at the operator’s 320,000-b/d Saint John refinery in the eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick.

Named Operation Osprey, the 75-day turnaround—one of the largest turnaround investments to take place at the refinery in the company’s history—will involve key infrastructure replacements, equipment upgrades, and a major revamp of the manufacturing site’s residual fluid catalytic cracking unit (RFCCU), Irving Oil said in a release Aug. 24.

The proposed major overhaul of the refinery’s RFCCU—a core unit that converts heavy crude into fuels such as gasoline and diesel using a specialized catalyst to break down complex hydrocarbons—will be its first since the unit’s commissioning in 2000 as part of the company’s $1-billion Operation King of Cats project.

“Our annual turnaround maintenance projects are critical to the continued reliability of our business for our customers and the energy security of the communities we serve, as well as for our teams and the tradespeople we welcome to our [complex] for the duration of the project,” said Dave MacLennan, vice-president and general manager of the Saint John refinery.

“Turnarounds take years of logistical planning, with safety at the forefront of all we do…[and we] deeply value the commitment of our people and our contractor partners to make a project of this scope successful,” MacLennan added.

Irving Oil said its Operation Osprey—which is scheduled to run through mid-November—will require about 2,100 additional skilled workers from more than 55 different contracting companies, primarily from communities across New Brunswick and the broader Atlantic Canadian region.

Representing 19 different trades—including laborers, scaffolders, pipefitters, boilermakers, instrumentation techs, welders, and bricklayers—this influx of contract workers for the turnaround is anticipated to generate more than $14 million in economic spinoffs in New Brunswick, including spending on short-term accommodations, entertainment and recreation services, retail, and other sectors, according to the operator.

“This $235-million private investment in our [Saint John complex] is essential to maintaining the safe and reliable operation of our refinery, and to strengthening long-term energy security for the regions we serve,” said Jeff Matthews, Irving Oil’s president and chief executive officer.

2025 turnaround

Operation Osprey follows the Saint John refinery’s nearly $40-million Operation Eastern Screech Owl 30-day turnaround in 2025, works of which were to include infrastructure replacements, equipment upgrades, and comprehensive inspections of the complex’s piping and key units.

Operation Eastern Screech Owl was executed alongside the company’s $100-million investment to upgrade, maximize performance, and enhance efficiency and reliability of the refinery’s FCCU that began in June 2025 and was to be completed in a phased approach over second-half 2025.