Stories from Tri-City News headlines of decades past is a recurring feature as the publication marks its 40th anniversary in 2024.
It was the end of an era in Port Moody.
The rise of scaffolding around the stacks and pipes at the Imperial refinery at the end of Ioco Road through the summer of 1995 meant they’d soon be coming down.
The plant that had operated for more than 80 years received its last shipment of crude oil — two million gallons — from Edmonton in early July. By the end of August, the flare that burns off excess gases and lit the sky on Port Moody’s north shore would be extinguished.
The imminent closure meant 165 employees, who turned the heavy crude into asphalt, propane, lubricants and bunker fuel, would soon be out of work. Many had been there for more than 15 years.
Rick Moyneur, the president of the communications, energy and paperworks at Union Local 614, was less than impressed.
“If you think about a company making $265 million in the first three quarters of the year, I think sometimes they could do more,” he told the Tri-City News. “It’s not like cash is a problem.”
But the company said the small facility, that processed 45,000 barrels a day, was no longer competitive with much larger plants that could handle four times as much.
It’s environmental systems were also out of date and would be expensive to upgrade.
The Tri-City News has covered civic affairs, local crime, festivals, events, personalities, sports and arts in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody since 1983. Bound back issues of the paper are available at the Coquitlam Archives, while digital versions of several past years can be found at issuu.com.
