Irving Oil cancels biodiesel project

Weeks after mothballing a tidal energyresearch project, Irving Oil Ltd. has withdrawn its application for environmental approval to build a biodiesel refinery in Saint John.

A Department of Environment spokesperson said in an emailed statement that Irving Oil's biodiesel refinery plan has been withdrawn and will be immediately removed from the department's list of projects under environmental review.

Irving Oil did not respond to requests for an interview on Tuesday to discuss the decision to scuttle the proposedproject.

The biodiesel plant was intended to be built next to Irving Oil's existing oil refinery in east Saint John.

Sam Robinson, a company spokesperson, said in April that the proposed plan would be designed to produce 2,200 barrels per day of biodiesel.

The company applied on March 31 for environmental impact assessment for a biodiesel refinery to create a renewable energy product from food waste that can be added to diesel fuel.

"And if this project proceeds it would employ up to 300 people in construction and create as many as 20 to 30 permanent jobs," Robinson said in April.

The environmental impact assessment application was timed so the company could qualify for federal government incentives designed to encourage biodiesel manufacturing.

When talking about the proposed biodeisel refinery, Irving Oil said in April the project was in the very early stages of development and warned that a lot of work needed to be done before it would move forward.

While the biodiesel plant would produce 2,200 barrels per day, the conventional Irving Oil refinery that it would have been built beside produces about 300,000 barrels of oil and gas per day.

It was revealed this week that Irving Oil quietly backed away from its exclusive rights to test 11 stretches of Crown land for tidal power capabilities.

When Irving Oil was awarded the rights to study the tidal power potential in the Bay of Fundy it had indicated that the tidal power generated could help power its proposed second oil refinery.

However, Irving Oil and BP shelved plans to build a second conventional oil refinery, known as Eider Rock, in July 2009.

A study conducted by Irving Oil and BP, which is currently dealing with theGulf of Mexico oilspill disaster,concluded that the project was not viable during the economic downturn and the softening demand for petroleum products.