Irving Oil was the first company in Canada to offer Premium low-sulphur diesel fuel. Sulphur levels in Irving Oil gasoline are less than one third the national average and less than one seventh the highest levels. The Irving Oil Refinery emissions are well below regulations and among the lowest sulphur dioxide emissions of Canadian refineries. Irving Oil Limited was the first company in Canada to discontinue the use of lead as an octane booster in gasoline, a full two years before environmental legislation came into effect. Irving Oil is the first and only refiner and marketer in Canada to be officially endorsed by leading automakers for its low sulphur gasolines.
Heavy fuels are custom blended to customer specifications that include sulphur levels.
Certain industries typically use heavy fuels with high sulphur levels. For example, power plants in Canada use heavy fuel oils with content up to 30,000 ppm. The Irving Oil Refinery does not produce fuels with that high level of sulphur so the province s power plants must import a good portion of their fuel. Irving Oil supports an open policy on sulphur content in petroleum fuels. Some parties have said they will support the Canadian government s regulations on diesel fuels only if the regulations are aligned with the US Environmental Protection Agency s targets scheduled to take effect in 2007.