Imperial Oil Ltd. has officially completed construction and commenced production at its new renewable diesel facility at the Strathcona refinery near Edmonton. The company announced the milestone on Tuesday, just in time for the start of the 2025-26 canola marketing year.
At full capacity, the facility will require about 2.5 million tonnes of canola seed annually — nearly half of Alberta’s total production — to produce 1 million tonnes of canola oil for use as feedstock. The surge in domestic demand offers long-term stability for Alberta’s 12,000 canola growers and strengthens ties between the province’s two largest industries - energy and agriculture.
The plant is poised to become the country’s largest renewable diesel production facility, with a full capacity of up to 20,000 barrels per day.
“The Strathcona renewable diesel facility will offer up a phenomenal opportunity for our canola industry to capture more value for the Albertan economy and the bottom lines of our canola growers,” Roger Chevraux, Chair of the Government & Industry Affairs Committee at Alberta Canola, said in an April blog post. “The success of this facility is a great win for every Albertan.”