PumpTalk - Petro-Canada

More than my ice cream dealer: Petro-Canada associates make communities better

My local Petro-Canada station is quite close to where I live in Vancouver - only 3 blocks away. So when I stop by, it's not just to fill up our car. Other visits are prompted by things like: an empty propane tank (running out of propane while hosting a BBQ for your in-laws is not cool), a last minute hostess gift (everyone loves a gift card!) and a late-night craving for ice cream (they stock my favourite brand of pints).

Through all these visits, I have developed a congenial relationship with Harpreet and his family who run this particular station. He's always so friendly and, embarrassingly, knows a little too much about my ice cream preferences. One time when I walked in, he smiled and pointed to the freezer: "Fresh stock of Caramel Cone Explosion!" Oh, Harpreet ... you know me so well.

Harpreet is not unique amongst Petro-Canada's operators. All across Canada, Petro‑Canada associates create a positive impact on the communities where they work and live. A few of their stories are highlighted in the videos below. From growing a four-generation family business to inspiring immigrant women to live their dreams; from supporting a community of long-haul truckers to giving kids in the community a safe place to play – our associates share their amazing stories of expertise, inclusion, safety, and customer experience. We're proud of our associates who #LiveByTheLeaf every day!

Do you know the Petro-Canada team in your community? Share a story in the comments!

- Rose R.

Tell Us Your PumpTalk Ideas for 2019!

Happy New Year, faithful PumpTalk readers! As is the custom at this time of year, I like to make resolutions, including some over here at PumpTalk. We're going to try to be a bit more consistent about posting this year. And we also want to make sure we're posting what YOU want to read.

I've gone through our stats and made a list of what was most popular with you last year. The posts that you read the most in 2018 fall into six categories:

Gas Prices - these are the whole reason this blog exists. No one is surprised these are the most popular.

Fuel Efficiency - these were posts that shared ideas on how you can drive more efficiently and possibly save fuel through your driving practices and upkeep of your vehicle.

Driving and Safety-Related Content - these posts discussed being safe when you drive and protecting others on the road in different circumstances (weather change, time change, holiday time, etc.)

Information about our Stations and Fuels - we shared a variety of content about our stations and our fuels, including how our gas pumps work, whether we still have full service stations and using octane boosters and high octane gasoline.

Newsy Items - this was a bit of a catch-all group of posts, ranging from different Canadian cities' plans for congestion pricing and how much gasoline Canadians use. Posts that our news and data wonks really like to get crunchy with.

Fun Content - ok, I'm not going to lie, these ones are the most fun to write. They had to do with cool road trips to take in Canada or the history of driving in Canada.

For 2019, we'd like to hear from you – so we’re doing a PumpTalk survey! Please take a moment to let us know what you’ve enjoyed reading on PumpTalk this year and weigh in on some ideas we have for future posts. And if you have any topics of your own, please leave them in the suggestion box at the end of the survey. Thanks!

 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from PumpTalk

As the holiday season ramps up, we’d like to take a moment to say a few “Thank You’s”.

We’d like to say "Thank You!" to our readers and commenters. We appreciate you making PumpTalk part of your day.

And we’d like to say an extra special “Thank you!” to the hundreds of Petro-Canada employees and associates who are working during the holidays to make sure that Canadians can get to what matters most to them.

Across Canada, our stations are often one of the few places open over the holidays. So if you need a warming cup of coffee on a long drive or a last-minute stocking stuffer (gift cards or instant lottery are good choices), please stop in.

This will be our last post for 2018. We'll see you back here in early January. Wishing you and yours a relaxing holiday season and a peaceful New Year!

Buying local – our apples and our oil

I'm a bit bummed that summer is over and there are only a few outdoor Farmer's Market days left. One of my favourite things is getting to talk to producers and know where my fruits and veggies come from. Buying local is good for the local economy and feels good too - knowing that you're helping agri-entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

This "buying local" attitude doesn't just apply to Farmer's Markets. It's a value and a commitment that we take seriously at Suncor. And we know that it is important to you as well. We've received a number of questions on social media asking where the oil that we use in our gasoline comes from.

As a reminder, Suncor operates refineries in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Colorado. In these refineries, we produce the fuel that we sell at gas stations in Canada and the U.S. In general, the vast majority of the oil that makes up our refined products originates from Western Canada, primarily from the oil sands. We also source crude oil from the east coast off Newfoundland and from the North Sea.

Specifically, each refinery gets its crude supply from a different mix of sources:

Montreal
The majority of the oil that our Montreal Refinery receives is from inland North American sources, with the rest coming from the east coast off Newfoundland and occasionally from the North Sea.

Sarnia
The majority of oil supplied to the Sarnia refinery is from western Canada, supplemented with purchases from the U.S.

Edmonton
The feedstock for our Edmonton refinery is entirely from the oil sands, primarily from our own oil sands operations but also from Syncrude and other producers from the Wood Buffalo and Cold Lake regions of Alberta.

Commerce City
The majority of feedstock for our Commerce City, Colorado refinery is supplied from sources in the U.S. Rocky Mountain region with the remainder being purchased from Canadian sources.

It's great to have so many local options for sourcing oil when it comes to producing gasoline. Is buying local important to you? Share your thoughts in the comments.

- Rose R.

Updating our Look – Live by the Leaf

My deep-set reluctance to go to the hair salon started at a young age. I hated getting my hair cut. As I grew older, my stubbornness increased. Forty years after my first trip to the hair salon, if you look back through pictures, I essentially have had the same hair style my entire life – aside from a culturally mandated Farrah-flip from the seventies.

We take a slightly similar attitude towards our look here at Petro-Canada. We’re proud to serve more than 900,000 Canadians every day, through more than 1,790 retail and wholesale locations across the country – from the largest cities to the smallest communities. And we know that they (YOU!) count on consistency from your fuel provider. We don’t go changin’ without a lot of consideration.

But after forty years, we thought it was time for an update. By now, you’ve probably seen our new ‘Live by the Leaf’ and ‘Fièrement d’ici’ signage at our stations. The updated look and motto are so much more than just a new tagline. ‘Live by the Leaf’ and ‘Fièrement d’ici’ reflect our deep commitment to and love of this country; and the values we all share as Canadians.

As ‘Live by the Leaf’/‘Fièrement d’ici’ evolves, it will tell the stories of real people – customers, associates, partners and employees alike. You can see some of that already in social media and on our website. On our Facebook page, we’ve had hundreds of Canadians share their stories and their ‘Live by the Leaf’ moments. You can see some of those, along with other stories, on our website. We invite you to stop by! You’ll see that we all share more than a country; we share a way to live.

- Rose R.

On June 1st, Alberta's Pre-Pay Legislation for Retail Fuel Outlets Comes into Effect

It’s funny how we get set in our ways and have a hard time with change, even if that change is for the better. Recently, my local grocery store re-arranged their aisles and it took me a few weeks to adapt. Initially, I couldn’t find my usual items and I felt like I spent twice as much time shopping. But after the re-arrangement, they were able to add a lot of new products, an enhanced deli and a fancy smoothie bar. So short-term uncomfortable change for a longer-term benefit – and delicious smoothies.

Today, a change is coming for our guests in Alberta that has a big long-term benefit: the safety of our associates. Alberta’s pre-pay legislation for retail fuel outlets and convenience stores is taking effect, requiring customers to pre-pay for fuel purchases in one of the following ways:

• paying at the pump
• paying the attendant before fuelling

If you pre-pay by credit or debit, the sale will be adjusted automatically if you require less fuel. The final amount will be reflected on the printed receipt you receive at the pump.

Likewise, if you pre-pay the attendant with cash or a gift card, and don’t fill-up the entire amount, you will need to go back into the store for a refund, though you will receive a receipt for the final amount at the pump.

We’ve had this type of legislation in place for a while here in British Columbia. It took a bit to get used to, but now it’s become part of my fuel pumping routine: for days when I’m short on time, I pay at the pump; for days when I feel like a coffee and a bit of a chat, I head inside to say hello to Prashad, the GSA at the Petro-Canada closest to my house, and pre-pay there.

More information about this legislation can be found on the Government of Alberta website. We know that pre-payment is a change for some of our Alberta customers and we appreciate your support as we comply with this legislation.

- Rose R.

Preventing Fraud at the Pumps

I got a call from my bank's Fraud Detection department the other day. A friendly but serious fellow on the other end of the phone asked "Did you attempt to purchase a mattress online for $8800?" Uh, no. Who spends $8800 on a mattress? Online? So, it turns out my credit card had been compromised - whether skimmed at a restaurant I was at recently or my number was posted online somewhere, the fraud department wouldn't say. Regardless, I had to go through the song and dance of filing some paperwork and then waiting for my new credit card.

I suppose this is just one of the hassles of 21st century life, but it definitely IS a hassle - to have your payment card skimmed. So that's why Petro-Canada has partnered with Toronto Crime Stoppers, the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association and Circle K Stores (formerly known as Mac's Convenience Stores) to guard against payment card skimming at our gas pumps.

Payment card skimming is a serious problem across the petroleum industry. In addition to the covert security features already in place at Petro-Canada, we're adding a more visible feature as well: strategically placed silver holographic anti-skimming decals. These decals bear the Crime Stoppers logo and will be placed on all Petro-Canada and Circle-K gas pumps in the Greater Toronto area and across Canada.

If fraudsters tamper with the strategically placed decals, they will break apart and visually alert customers and employees to a potential issue. So if you see that one of these decals has been broken, please alert our gas station attendants. They are instructed to perform preventative maintenance checks and ensure the integrity of the gas pump.

Crime Stoppers, in addition to supporting these decals, also encourages customers when paying at any gas pump to ensure that the card reader is secure by pulling on it and to check that the keypad area is flush against the console and not loose.

We're very excited about this initiative as well as working with Crime Stoppers, Circle-K and our customers to prevent skimming at the pump. Have you seen these anti-skimming decals at a Petro-Canada near you?

- Rose R.

New Long-Term Sustainability Goals - Suncor’s 2016 Report on Sustainability

As most of our readers know, Petro-Canada is a Suncor business. Every year, Suncor releases its Report on Sustainability, which examines the progress we’ve made on our environmental, social and economic performance. We believe that transparency is important to keep our stakeholders, and our shareholders informed on how we’re doing.

The 2016 Report on Sustainability includes our new long-term sustainability goals, one of which is to do our part to fight climate change by reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the second to increase the involvement of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada in energy development.

We share in the global challenge to tackle climate change head on by reducing emissions, while providing energy the world needs. We will work to harness technology and innovation to set us on a transformational pathway to a low carbon energy system. We will start by reducing the total emission intensity of the production of our oil and petroleum products by 30% by 2030.

We asked some of our employees why it's important for Suncor to have a GHG goal. Here's what they had to say:

Suncor’s first long-term social goal recognizes the value of relationships, and focuses on changing the way we think and act so we can strengthen our relationships and increase the participation of Aboriginal Peoples in energy development. This isn’t work we do ‘to’ or ‘for’ Aboriginal Peoples. We must learn from, and with, partners and communities. Find out more about our 10 year plan here. 

The 2016 Report on Sustainability also includes an update on the environmental performance goals Suncor adopted back in 2009, to be achieved by the end of 2015. We met three of four of these goals:

• Water: We reduced our fresh water consumption by 27%, surpassing our goal to reduce consumption by 12%

• Land: We increased reclamation of disturbed land by 176%, surpassing our goal to increase reclamation by 100%. By 2015, we reclaimed 3,730 hectares of disturbed lands

• Energy intensity: We improved our energy efficiency by 9%, reaching an overall energy intensity of 5.06 GJ/m3, coming within 1% of achieving our goal. Our new GHG goal will help us continue to reduce energy use in our operations

• Air: We reduced our air emissions by 36%, significantly surpassing our goal to reduce emissions by 10%

For more about Suncor's sustainability efforts, check out the full Suncor 2016 Report on Sustainability.

Going Green – Today’s Conversations with Canadian Drivers

This July marks the 10 year anniversary of the PumpTalk blog. Ten years of posts about gas prices, fuel efficiency and the occasional layered sandwich!

We started this blog because we heard that our guests wanted to have a better understanding of how gas prices were set. So we set out to help explain why gas prices sometime fluctuate, the impact of supply and demand and the price differences across Canada.

Ten years later, the conversation has changed. Although gas prices are still relevant to our guests, many also want to talk about the responsible development and use of Canada’s natural resources. So with that in mind, we have updated our blog to better reflect the today’s dialogue.

Here on PumpTalk, you’ll continue to see posts about the price at the pump and fun car facts, but you’ll also see more about fuel efficiency and how we can all use our products responsibly.

To help us spread the word, we’ve updated our old pump stickers, to give them a new look and to reflect the updated focus of PumpTalk. Above is preview of the new sticker you’ll be seeing on your pump.

Let us know what you think!

Final Update: Supply Situation in Western Canada

Thank you for your patience and cooperation - we're happy to report that our retail locations in Western Canada that recently experienced a fuel outage have now received fuel and are operational. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and we regret any frustration that you endured. Thank you for being a Petro-Canada customer.