Irving Oil Reports Some of its Supreme Gasoline Off-Specification

Cause attributed to automated valve malfunction at truck loading bay at Saint John Refinery

SAINT JOHN, Aug. 16 /CNW/ - On August 13th, Irving Oil discovered a portion of its Supreme gasoline was not meeting octane specifications at select service stations principally within New Brunswick. Preliminary testing suggests specifications for the Supreme fuel were below the required level (91 octane), but generally higher than mid-grade gasoline (89 octane).

"When we investigated further, we discovered that one of our truck loading bays at the Saint John Refinery had an automated valve malfunction," says Mark Sherman, General Manager of the Irving Oil Refinery. "As a result, some loads leaving the refinery were off-spec, some were on-spec. The malfunction appears to have let some regular gasoline mix with our Supreme grade, making our Supreme and mid-grade blends of gasoline off-specification at some fuel stations."

The malfunctioning equipment has been taken out of service and as of Friday, all shipments of Supreme gasoline are on-specification. Irving Oil is currently confirming which sites received the affected product and is working to deliver on-specification Supreme fuel to all affected stations within the week. At no time were there any safety or environmental concerns related to the automated valve malfunction.

Irving Oil has also ordered an independent audit of its process and quality control systems, in addition to voluntarily disclosing the discovery of its off-specification Supreme fuel to government regulators and customers.

Irving Oil has arranged a dedicated hotline [phone]) and on-line information (www.irvingoil.com ) for customers who use Supreme and Plus gasoline, in order to allow affected customers to be reimbursed fairly. Customers can access the hotline and web information after 9:00am AST, Tuesday, August 17th.

"We are taking all the necessary steps to correct this situation and prevent it from recurring," says Sherman. "We recognize this is not the standard of excellence our customers have come to expect from Irving Oil, and on behalf of everyone at our company, I sincerely apologize for the situation."

Irving Oil remains fully committed to the highest quality products, services and ethical conduct and will do everything in its power to be fair to customers who may not have received the product they paid for.

About Irving Oil

Irving Oil was founded in 1924 and is a privately owned regional refining and marketing company with a history of long-term partnerships and relationships. Irving Oil operates Canada's largest refinery, in Saint John, N.B. For more information about Irving Oil, visit www.irvingoil.com.

Media Teleconference Call:

    
    Call-in: 1-888-231-8191
    Pass code: 95074363

    Who:   Mark Sherman, General Manager of the Irving Oil Refinery

           Rob Bridges, Manager, Production Planning, Irving Oil Refinery

    What:  Mark Sherman and Rob Bridges will provide a brief statement
           regarding Irving Oil's report of off-specification Supreme
           gasoline. Following the statement, Mr. Sherman and Mr. Bridges
           will answer media questions.

    When:  4:00pm AST, Monday, August 16th, 2010
    

For further information: Carolyn Van der Veen, Irving Oil, [phone], [email protected]