Irving Oil in New Brunswick has confirmed the century-old company will remain privately held enterprise after completing a strategic review that started in June 2023. The Irving Oil Refinery is seen in Saint John, N.B., on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
SAINT JOHN, N.B. — New Brunswick-based Irving Oil Ltd. has confirmed that the century-old company will remain privately held, after completing a strategic review that started in June 2023.
The company issued a statement Tuesday saying it had also appointed Jeff Matthews as the company’s new president and CEO. Matthews has worked with Irving Oil for the past 30 years, having served as chief financial officer and chairman of the executive management committee.
Last February, Matthews was put in charge of the strategic review after Ian Whitcomb announced he would be stepping down as president and CEO in June 2024. Among other things, the review looked into the possible sale of the company, which operates Canada’s largest oil refinery in Saint John, N.B.
When it opened in 1960, the refinery processed more than 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day. It now processes more than 300,000 barrels daily, and its products are sold across Eastern Canada and in the northeastern United States.
In 1970, Irving Oil opened a marine crude oil terminal southeast of Saint John, which is capable of handling the largest tankers in the world.
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“Irving Oil remains a strong and secure company, supported by great employees and valued customers,” the company’s statement said. “It remains anchored in the values it has forged over the last 100 years.”
The company, one of the largest employers in Atlantic Canada, has more than 4,000 full-time employees. It also operates more than 900 fuelling locations and distribution terminals across Eastern Canada and New England.
In 2014, the company expanded into Europe, opening trading operations in the United Kingdom and blending operations in Amsterdam. And In 2016, Irving Oil purchased Ireland’s only refinery.
Last May, the company’s chairman emeritus, Arthur L. Irving, died at the age of 93. Irving was the second-born son of New Brunswick industrialist K.C. Irving, who founded the Irving business empire in 1924. Born in Bouctouche, N.B., K.C. Irving expanded the company to include pulp and paper production, newspaper publishing, broadcasting and oil refining.
Arthur Irving became president of Irving Oil in 1972 after his father retired.
In 2018, an Irving Oil spokesperson said the company, which at the time employed more than 2,200 people in New Brunswick, was generating more than 50 per cent of the province’s export trade at $5 billion annually.
By 2023, Forbes Magazine reported that Arthur Irving was among the top 10 richest Canadians with an estimated net worth of more than US$6 billion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2025.
The Canadian Press
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