A landmark industrial site on Mississauga\u2019s waterfront is entering a new era, with the facility historically known as the Clarkson Oil Refinery set to end its oil refining operations after more than 80 years.<\/p>\n
HF Sinclair Corporation, the Dallas-based company that owns the 427-acre site, has announced plans to retire its base oil refining assets in Mississauga by 2027 as part of a broader restructuring of its lubricants and specialties business. Base oils are the key ingredient used in engine oils and industrial lubricants.<\/p>\n
The move does not mean the entire facility is\u00a0closing.<\/p>\n
Known today as the Mississauga Lubricants Centre,\u00a0which operates under\u00a0Petro\u2011Canada Lubricants Inc., HF Sinclair said it will maintain a presence in Ontario, including its research and development laboratory, lubricant blending and packaging operations, supply chain, logistics,\u00a0and commercial activities.<\/p>\n
However, the transition will mark the end of local base oil production at a facility that has been one of Canada\u2019s most important sources of the refined oils used to make engine lubricants, hydraulic\u00a0fluids\u00a0and other industrial products.<\/p>\n
The Mississauga operation currently has the capacity to produce approximately 15,600 barrels of base oil per day and is Canada\u2019s largest base oil producer. The facility is also the country\u2019s only significant source of certain high-quality base oils, according to Unifor, the union\u00a0representing\u00a0workers at the site.<\/p>\n
Under HF Sinclair\u2019s plan, the Mississauga facility will no longer produce those raw materials. Instead, the company says the future operation will rely on base oils supplied through agreements with two global manufacturers, along with access to products from HF Sinclair\u2019s refinery in Tulsa, Oklahoma.<\/p>\n
The company said the new model will allow its lubricants and specialties business to continue offering base oils, finished lubricants and specialty products while creating a more flexible business structure.<\/p>\n
The announcement has raised concerns from Unifor, which represents approximately 250 unionized employees at the Mississauga site through Local 593.<\/p>\n
The union said ending base oil refining will have a significant impact on workers and criticized the decision to move production away from Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a reckless decision made in a Dallas boardroom by people who will never have to look these workers in the eye,\u201d Unifor National President Lana Payne said, adding that the plant would continue to operate as a blender and packager of imported base oils under the Petro-Canada Lubricants brand. It would no longer produce them.<\/p>\n
Unifor is calling on HF Sinclair to provide more information about how many jobs will be affected and when potential layoffs could occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery truck, every train, every mine and every factory in this country runs on lubricants,\u201d said Unifor Ontario Regional Director Samia Hashi. \u201cSkilled Canadians built this plant\u2019s safety record and its reputation, and they are being told their work is being shipped out of the country. Ontario workers are paying for a decision that makes this country less secure.\u201d<\/p>\n
HF Sinclair has not announced how many positions could be eliminated. However, as refining operations end, jobs directly connected to that part of the facility are expected to be affected.<\/p>\n
The site has a long and complicated history that mirrors the evolution of Canada\u2019s petroleum industry. It has had a home in Clarkson long before the existence of Mississauga, when the area was still rural with no surrounding neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n
It opened in 1943 as the British-American Oil Company refinery and in 1969 became the Gulf Oil Clarkson Refinery following a corporate acquisition.<\/p>\n
In 1985, the facility was\u00a0purchased\u00a0by Petro-Canada, which transformed the operation over time from a traditional refinery into a specialized lubricants facility. Following Suncor Energy\u2019s merger with Petro-Canada in 2009, the site continued\u00a0operating\u00a0as Suncor\u2019s Petro-Canada Lubricants facility.<\/p>\n
The operation was sold in 2016 to HollyFrontier Corporation, which later became HF Sinclair.<\/p>\n
Although the corporate names and ownership have changed over the decades, the site has\u00a0remained\u00a0a major industrial presence in Clarkson and along Mississauga\u2019s waterfront.<\/p>\n
Still, questions remain about the long-term future of the large property near Southdown Road and Lakeshore Road West.<\/p>\n
HF Sinclair has not announced plans to sell the land, redevelop the\u00a0property\u00a0or remove the entire operation. The company has said portions of the site will remain active for blending, packaging,\u00a0research\u00a0and\u00a0logistics.<\/p>\n
The refining infrastructure that will no longer be used will eventually need to be decommissioned, but HF Sinclair has not provided details about that process or what could happen to those areas of the property in the future.<\/p>\n
Any potential redevelopment of the site would\u00a0likely involve\u00a0environmental reviews,\u00a0approvals\u00a0and planning decisions.<\/p>\n
The refinery transition is part of HF Sinclair\u2019s larger plan to separate its lubricants and specialties business into an independent publicly traded company. The company said the separation is expected to take place over the next 12 to 18 months.<\/p>\n
For Mississauga, the announcement signals the end of one chapter in the history of a site that has\u00a0operated\u00a0through multiple owners and names for more than eight decades, while leaving open questions about what comes next for one of the city\u2019s most recognizable industrial properties.<\/p>\n
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