In 2026, Irving Oil will execute a major turnaround event at its Saint John Refinery to complete essential inspection, repair, replacement, and reliability work across critical processing units and supporting infrastructure. As one of Atlantic Canada’s cornerstone energy facilities, the refinery’s performance is foundational to safe, reliable supply and long-term asset integrity. The objective for the outage is a safe, well-governed execution that protects people and the environment, sustains product quality, and returns the refinery to service in accordance with proposed timelines through disciplined planning, strong contractor performance, and clear operational controls.
The Saint John Refinery operates in a high-compliance environment where maintenance quality, procedural discipline, and consistent site standards directly influence safety performance and reliability. Irving Oil’s long-standing labour-relations framework in Saint John, the GPMA (1992) and NMA (1998), supports predictable maintenance execution by clarifying expectations across contractors and trades, strengthening coordination, and enabling efficient workforce mobilization. This framework is particularly important during a turnaround, when activity volumes increase significantly, site congestion rises, and multiple work fronts must be sequenced carefully to avoid safety and schedule impacts.
Turnarounds at the refinery compress complex, interdependent work scopes into constrained execution windows and often involve confined-space entry, line breaking, heavy lifts, scaffold-intensive work, rotating equipment overhauls, and extensive inspection and testing prior to restart. Without strong alignment on standards and decision pathways, minor issues can escalate into safety exposure, rework, lost productivity, and schedule risk.
For the 2026 turnaround, planning has centred on four execution-critical priorities. First, labour supply planning aligns forecasts, mobilization timing, and onboarding so qualified trades are available when required and are fit-for-duty at start of work. Second, flexible work arrangements are established and communicated early to maintain continuity across shifts, manage fatigue, and protect productivity. Third, effective labour relations are sustained through consistent application of site expectations and a responsive process for addressing day-to-day matters promptly. Finally, safety performance is maintained through rigorous planning, hazard identification, competent supervision, permit-to-work discipline, and active workforce engagement.
Planning commenced early through joint discussions among Irving Oil, signatory contractors, local unions, and international representatives to confirm scope, sequencing, readiness requirements, and the anticipated labour-demand curve.
Key milestones include an “oil out” date in September of 2026, with operations expected to resume in November of 2026, subject to completion of inspections, quality verification, and safe start-up protocols. To reinforce consistent expectations across contractors and trades, project-alignment materials, including the strategic plan A Well-Oiled Future and updated Rules of Engagement, have been used to establish a common reference point for site standards, communication pathways, and issue-resolution practices. The GPMC/NMC provides coordination support within this structure, particularly on labour readiness and timely issue resolution.
“Through the GPMC/NMC framework, we are committed to delivering safe, reliable, and high-quality work at the Irving Oil Refinery; consistently, twenty four hours a day three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Our focus on skilled union labour, disciplined execution, strong safety performance, and adherence to schedule ensures that maintenance excellence is not limited to turnarounds but is sustained across all operations.”
– Brett McKenzie
Executive Director, GPMC/NMC
Early alignment on labour readiness, site standards, and issue-resolution pathways reduces execution friction during the outage window and supports safe, stable refinery restart. For Irving Oil, the 2026 turnaround is expected to strengthen long-term reliability, safeguard asset integrity, and reinforce a consistent safety culture across the site and contractor community. For contractors and trades, clear expectations and disciplined governance support sustained productivity and reduced disruption during peak activity. Collectively, these elements improve schedule confidence while maintaining uncompromising safety performance and quality outcomes appropriate to a critical refining operation.