May 18, 2012:

Workers at the Dartmouth oil refinery say they were caught off guard when Imperial Oil announced Thursday that the business was up for sale. The company said the facility has been losing tens of millions of dollars over the past few years. The announcement is causing nervous moments for the 200 employees and 200 contractors who currently work at the refinery and related terminals. Many of the workers met last night to discuss their future, including Claude Reneaud who said the staff are shocked and are looking for answers.

A lot of questioning as far as what's their future about, what will they do personally, and what will the company do globally, or if there was another buyer, what king of term would come with it," he said. "It's too soon to speculate and know what's going on there, but certainly there's a lot of anxiety for everyone." Imperial Oil said Thursday it's guarded about the chances for a sale, as there are 10 refineries on the market. Leo Sanchez, the manager of the refinery, said it's important for the company to be frank with its workers. He emphasized that the challenges are a global issue.

"We're extremely proud of what the employees have been able to achieve," he said. "This creates a lot of anxiety, and we want to make sure that they have the right means to be able to talk to folks about the anxiety, and manage staff the best way possible." If there is no buyer, the company may convert the facility into a terminal. But that plan would only require 25 employees. Imperial will make a decision about the future of the refinery in early 2013. The Dartmouth oil refinery began production in 1918 and has a capacity of about 88,000 barrels a day.

By CBCnews