An Irving Oil spokesperson told the head of the state’s Governor’s Energy Office that the Canadian company doesn’t expect any broad-based supply issues following an explosion Monday at a refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick.
“They were already performing scheduled maintenance activities and, therefore, had contingency plans in place to replace the supplies that would be unavailable as a result of the maintenance work,” said Angela Monroe, director of the energy office.
“Although we do know that Maine receives significant amounts of its gasoline, diesel and home heating oil from this facility, we are still working to quantify those amounts and will provide additional information when it is available,” Monroe said.
Monroe spoke to Andrea Sarkic, a government relations representative at Irving, at around noon Wednesday.
She said Sarkic didn’t say when the plant would go back online but said she should have an answer within one week. Monroe said the explosion was related to the sulfur removal process tied to diesel fuel. The exact location of the explosion was not revealed.
Irving’s website said the company operates Canada’s largest refinery in Saint John and has reached production rates in excess of 320,000 barrels per day.
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