Nanticoke refinery was originally built by
Texaco Canada on the site of the former
RCAF Station Jarvis. It started production on November 17, 1978. In 1987, the refinery went through modifications to improve efficiency. Imperial Oil became an owner of the refinery when it purchased Texaco's Canadian assets in 1989. In 2004, a new gasoline hydrofining unit was built to treat gasoline ingredients from the Nanticoke and
Sarnia refineries, followed by the second unit in 2006. A new
desulphurization unit was commissioned in 2006. In February 2007, a combination of a fire at the Nanticoke refinery and a strike at
CN resulted in a shortage of gasoline at Esso stations in
Ontario, which also drove up prices to more than a dollar a litre. Strangely, the fire had been discovered quickly but the fire suppression systems were not operating, and the handheld fire extinguishers had a faulty charge. Damage to the facility was made inevitable when the on-site fire brigade ran out of gas while en route to the location. == Operating units ==