Upgrading & refining

Upgrading & refining

All oil needs to be refined so it can be made into usable products. At our upgrader and refineries, we take oil and turn it into products like gasoline, diesel and petrochemicals that are then used in the daily items we rely on – including asphalt, smartphones, laundry detergent, contact lenses and clothes.

Our upgrading and refining operations

Our upgrader and refineries, along with our Upstream production, help reduce the impact of price fluctuations in the oil market to Cenovus by allowing us to capture value from the very beginning with the production of oil through to the end with the creation of a wide range of finished products. This allows us to be a fully-integrated producer of higher value finished products and helps to reduce our risk and lessen the volatility in our business.

In addition to our wholly-owned refineries listed below, we have 50% stakes in two U.S. refineries. Through a joint venture with the operator Phillips 66, we have refining capacity in Wood River, Illinois and Borger, Texas.

Operations at Cenovus

Learn more about Cenovus assets in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region.

Our operations

Lima Refinery

Lima Refinery

Our Lima Refinery in the U.S. Midwest produces low-sulphur gasoline, gasoline blend stocks, ultra-low sulphur diesel, jet fuel, petrochemical feedstock and other byproducts. A crude oil flexibility project completed in 2019 increased heavy oil processing capacity at the refinery providing the flexibility to switch between light and heavy crude oil feedstock.

Our refined products are transported via pipelines and rail cars to primary markets in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and southern Michigan. 

Interested in working in Lima? Learn more.

Lloydminster asphalt refinery

Lloydminster Refinery

Our asphalt refinery in Lloydminster, Alberta produces more than 30 different types and grades of road asphalt from heavy oil. These range from road oils used for dust control to highway-grade asphalt.

The asphalt refinery also produces a condensate that is blended with heavy oil production and drilling fluids, a kerosene distillate and gas oil which is processed at the Lloydminster Upgrader into low-sulphur diesel and Husky Synthetic Blend.

Did you know? This refinery is the largest producer of paving asphalt in Western Canada.

Interested in working in Lloydminster? Learn more.

Lloydminster upgrader

Lloydminster Upgrader

Our upgrader in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan was commissioned in 1992 and processes heavy oil from our Lloydminster thermal projects. The synthetic crude produced at this upgrader is also used in the production of gasoline and diesel fuels in refineries in Canada and the U.S.

Interested in working in Lloydminster? Learn more.

Superior Refinery

Superior Refinery

Operations at our Superior Refinery, located in Superior, Wisconsin in the U.S. Midwest, are currently suspended as the facility undergoes a rebuild following a fire at the site in 2018. Once construction is completed, the refinery is expected to have the ability to process light and heavy crude oil from North Dakota and Western Canada.

The refinery is being rebuilt with the same configuration and with a processing capacity of 49,000 bbls/d, and is expected to produce a full slate of products, including asphalt, gasoline and diesel. Its associated logistics include five storage and distribution terminals.

Learn more about the rebuild.

Toledo Refinery

Toledo Refinery

Our refinery in Oregon, Ohio is adjacent to the City of Toledo. It has been operating for more than 100 years and can process up to 160,000 bbls/d, including 90,000 bbls/d of heavy oil.

The refinery can produce 3.8 million gallons of gasoline, 1.3 million gallons of diesel fuel and 600,000 gallons of jet fuel daily.

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