Dartmouth Refinery, Oil refinery in Dartmouth, Canada
Dartmouth Refinery was an Imperial Oil refinery on the east side of Halifax Harbour, covering about 400 hectares south of central Dartmouth in the Imperoyal neighbourhood. Crude oil arrived by ship, and the plant processed some 89,000 barrels per day into heating oil and gasoline. It was demolished between late 2015 and late 2017, yielding more than 37,000 tonnes of scrap steel.
Imperial Oil founded the refinery in 1918 partly to meet fuel demand in the First World War. In the Second World War it supplied fuel for much of the Allied North Atlantic convoys. On 19 June 2013 Imperial Oil announced its conversion to a marine terminal; demolition ran from late 2015 to late 2017, scrapping more than 37,000 mt of steel.
The neighbourhood around the refinery became known as Imperoyal, a name coined from "Imperial Oil". At its peak the plant employed about 200 people and supplied oil and gas to every retail station and bulk terminal in Nova Scotia. After the 2013 closure the site was converted into a marine terminal.
The site is located on Halifax Harbour's waterfront and visible from the road, but public access to the facility itself is restricted. Views are best from the water or nearby public areas along the harbor.
Before the refinery, Fort Clarence, an 18th-century military installation, stood on this site to defend Halifax Harbour from naval attacks. The old fort was dismantled to make way for the industrial facility.
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