Refining

Canada has a well established crude oil refinery sector which meets domestic demand. Canada's refineries and petrochemical plants are grouped in central processing complexes located in various parts of the country. There are three main refining centres in Canada, but most provinces have at least one refinery. In 2010 a total of 18 refineries were in operation:

• 15 manufacture the full range of petroleum products
• 2 are primarily asphalt plants with limited production of other products
• 1 is a petrochemical plant that also produces some distillate products

Refineries located in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada source a portion of their crude oil from abroad, while western Canadian refineries are fully supplied by domestic production. Large volumes of refined oil products are shipped by pipeline to other areas of the country and across North America.

• Canada's full product petroleum refineries process over 278 000 cubic metres per day of heavy and light crude oil. In 2010, Canadian refinery utilization rates averaged over 80 per cent.

Crude oil, including from oil sands and heavy crude oil upgrading plants, is processed into a full spectrum of refinery products, heating oil, diesel fuel, aviation fuels, different grades of gasoline, lubrication oils and numerous other petroleum products. In refineries near the Canada/United States border, product exchanges between the countries often occur to accommodate changing market conditions and the availability of feedstock.

In Western Canada, the feedstocks used for petrochemical processing are mainly natural gas and natural gas liquids. In Eastern Canada, the petrochemical plants are based primarily on crude oil and specialized refinery streams.

• Exports of main petroleum products in 2010 were estimated to be 59 900 cubic metres per day; the primary destination was the U.S. east coast market with overseas exports being the second largest market.

Refineries are regularly upgraded to run economically and efficiently, not only to meet industry demands, but also to meet evolving regulatory requirements. This includes meeting high standards concerning:

• waste management
• public safety
• employee health and safety

Desulphurization

Canadian refineries have produced low sulphur gasoline and diesel as established by the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) since January 1, 2005.

• Sulphur in gasoline - annual average sulphur level must not exceed 30 parts per million. None can exceed 80 parts per million as of January 1, 2005.
• Benzene in gasoline - the benzene content is limited to 1 per cent by volume (flat limit), or as an alternative, to 1.5 per cent by volume providing that the yearly pool average of all gasoline produced does not exceed 0.95 per cent by volume.
• Low sulphur diesel - the concentration of sulphur in diesel fuel produced or imported for use in on-road vehicles shall not exceed 15 parts per million. Diesel fuel sold in the northern supply area shall not exceed 15 parts per million.
• Regular sulphur diesel - the concentration of sulphur in diesel fuel produced or imported for use in off-road engines shall not exceed 500 parts per million from until May 31, 2010; After this date, regulations specify a 15 parts per million sulphur content limit except for rail and marine which remain at 500 ppm until May 31, 2012.