Imperial Oil Oil discovered the Leduc Woodbend Devonian oil reef in 1947, marking the beginning of the contemporary period in Canadian oil and gas development. Drilling began on the landmark discovery well Leduc No. 1 on November 20, 1946. In 1989, Imperial Oil acquired Texaco's Canadian operations. From the 1934-35 season through the 1975-76 season, Imperial Oil was a sponsor of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. program "Hockey Night in Canada" for both radio and television broadcasts. In February 2013, Richard Kruger, President of ExxonMobil Production Co. and a Vice President of Exxon Mobil Corp., was appointed to be Chief Executive of Imperial
History of the petroleum industry in Canada (oil sands and heavy oil) upgrading heavy oil at that time was a risky financial proposition. To be economic, these projects rely on substantial differences in pricing ("differentials") between light and heavy crude oil. Heavy oil is worth less than light oil; the question is, How much less? Unless upgraded oil fetched considerably more per barrel than the less attractive heavy oil, the upgrader would not make money on processing the stuff. While the Plains partnership collapsed, the idea survived. Their partners gone, SaskOil suggested reducing upgrader costs by integrating with the Consumers' Cooperative Refinery in Regina. This would eliminate duplication in facilities and infrastructure