Come By Chance Refinery is a renewable diesel refinery operated by Braya Renewable Fuels in Come By Chance,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, Canada. It has a refining capacity of .

History

The refinery was built by John Shaheen's Shaheen Resources from 1971 to 1973, with the help of British company Procon Limited, for $155 million. The refinery began operation in December 1973 until the refinery went bankrupt in 1976, with Shaheen Resources owing about $500 million.The Come By Chance Oil Refinery
Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage After four years of inactivity, the refinery was purchased by

Petro-Canada Petro-Canada (colloquially known as Petro-Can) is a retail and wholesale marketing brand subsidiary of Suncor Energy. Until 1991, it was a federal Crown corporation (a state-owned enterprise). In August 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor En ...

for $10 million in 1980, but decided against reactivation, and instead sold the refinery to Bermuda-based refinery Newfoundland Processing Ltd. for $1 in 1986, which reopened it the following year. In August 1994, the Vitol Group purchased the refinery and the operating company North Atlantic Refining was founded. In 2014, it was acquired by SilverRange Capital Partners, a New York-based alternative asset manager. On May 28, 2020,

Irving Oil Irving Oil Ltd. is a Canadian privately owned intergenerational gasoline, oil, and natural gas producing and exporting company, a subsidiary of the parent company Irving Group of Companies, one of the largest "private conglomerates" in North Amer ...

announced that it was in negotiations to purchase the refinery. On October 5, 2020, the sale to Irving Oil collapsed and it was announced that the Come By Chance refinery would close permanently. In November 2021, the U.S. private equity group Cresta Fund Management purchased a controlling stake of the idling refinery and announced plans to convert the plant to a

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

operation. As part of the acquisition, the refinery was renamed to Braya Renewable Fuels. On September 2, 2022, an explosion at the refinery injured 8 workers, one of whom, Shawn Peddle of

Clarenville Clarenville is a town on the east coast of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Clarenville was incorporated in 1951. It is located in the Shoal Harbour valley, fronting an arm of the Atlant ...

(formerly of Hatchet Cove) died in hospital on October 15. Occupational Health & Safety charges were later laid against both Braya and a contractor. In late August, 2023, the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador awarded exclusive rights to pursue development of the Toqlukuti'k Wind and Hydrogen Ltd. Project to Braya partner ABO Wind. Braya had previously issued an exclusive letter of support to ABO Wind for the joint development of

green hydrogen Green hydrogen (GH2 or GH2) is hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water, using renewable electricity. Production of green hydrogen causes significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than production of grey hydrogen, which is derived fr ...

production at its refinery in Come By Chance. The Crown lands decision awarded ABO Wind exclusive rights to 267,000 acres, or 417 square miles, in close proximity to the refinery. In February 2024, the refinery started production of renewable diesel, with production expected to ramp up to 18,000 bpd. However, by December of the same year, Braya was contemplating a temporary shutdown of the refinery due to tight margins and the expiration of the Blenders Tax Credit in the United States. The shutdown took effect in January 2025.

References

External links

North Atlantic Refining
Oil refineries in Canada Buildings and structures in Newfoundland and Labrador {{Newfoundland-stub